Saving Meredith
by andyoullenjoyit
Summary: Meredith came out of Elliot Bay a broken woman. Addison is there to help put her back together again. Post Some Kind of Miracle, Meredith and Addison centric. Companion piece to "Unrecognizable Emotions". HIATUS.
1. Starting Now

**Disclaimer:** Grey's Anatomy and other recognizable content belongs to Shonda Rhimes and ABC- sadly, I don't profit from this.

* * *

The first thing Meredith thought when she opened her eyes was ouch. Then it was where am I, and finally what the hell happened?

Then it all came back to her. The bathtub, Elliot Bay, drowning, Cristina pouncing on her the minute she woke up, promising Derek this would never happen again, her mommy dying, Dr. Montgomery talking to her while she was in a drug-induced sleep… wait, hang on. Dr. Montgomery? What? Why was Dr. Montgomery talking to her, Meredith Grey, adulterous whore and co-founder of the Dirty Mistress' Club?

Wait. There's Izzie! Maybe she'll know.

"Hey, Izz!" Meredith called out into the hall. "Come here for a sec!"

Izzie bounced over and sat down next to her. "Hey Mer! I'm so glad you're awake again, how are you feeling? Do you need more morphine?"

Meredith's eyes widened. "No! No more morphine! Do you not remember the last time I had morphine, Izzie? That was horrible and mortifying and never happening again!"

Izzie laughed. "Who doesn't remember that Mer? Fine then, it's not my ribs that are cracked and sore. What did you want?"

Meredith lowered her voice. "Uh, Izz, Dr. Montgomery wasn't in here while I was out, was she? I seem to have some sort of fuzzy memory, but that can't be right because she hates me!"

Izzie looked at Meredith strangely. "Dr. Montgomery was in here quite a bit over the last two days Mer, she was really worried about you. You should have seen her; she was almost as upset as Derek! She doesn't hate you Mer, she's not going to kill you. You should talk to her. I think she's in surgery now, but she'll probably be by later."

Meredith looked shocked. "Okay, Izz. Well, thanks! I'll see you guys later, right?"

Izzie smiled. "Of course you will! I've got to go Mer, I'm scrubbing in with Sloan on a facial reconstruction soon."

Meredith was jealous that her friend had surgery while she was stuck in bed but waved anyway. "Bye Izz!"

It took another two hours for someone to come into her room. This time it was Nurse Tyler, in to take her vitals. Meredith was bored out of her mind and was starting to realize why Katie Bryce had paged her 911 when she was bored. Tyler told her that Derek was in a surgery that had 3 hours left and then another one right after.

Meredith decided that she might as well just try and sleep since the only thing on TV was more coverage about the ferryboat crash, something that she didn't really want to think about.

* * *

Scrubbing out of her emergency C-Section, Addison decided that she should go check in on Meredith to see how she was. It had been 2 days since the crash and Meredith had been unconscious most of the time since she was still recovering from her injuries and had had a lot of drugs in her system. The discovery of her feelings had hit her like a train and she had been looking for reasons to check on Meredith or just sit with her so that she could make sure she was still alive and breathing. Derek had found it odd at first but had been grateful that someone else was watching over Meredith when he had to be in surgery or sleeping.

Addison walked over to Meredith's room and saw that she was asleep again. Seeing that her vitals were stable, Addison pulled up a chair next to Meredith's bed and sat down. She, Addison Forbes Montgomery, double board certified OB/GYN and neonatal surgeon was afraid to talk to Meredith Grey unless she was sleeping! Addison took a deep breath before speaking.

"Hey, Meredith, it's Addison again. Do you have any idea how much you scared all of us? Derek was devastated, Yang went crazy, the Chief lost it, Miranda Bailey cried and so did I. Don't ever do that again, you hear me? I know you guys call me Satan but Meredith, I really would like to be friends with you. I think that if we had met under different circumstances we would be great friends. So you know, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm right here."

When Addison took a breath, she looked up and met Meredith Grey's grey-green eyes.

"Dr. Montgomery?" Meredith murmured sleepily.

Addison was embarrassed that she had been caught and stood up to go. "Um, I'm sorry, I'll just leave."

Meredith reached out and grabbed her wrist. "No… stay."

Addison looked at her closely. "Are you sure?"

Meredith smiled, now fully awake. "Yeah, I'm sure. Sit down, we can talk."

Addison sat back down. "So how are you feeling?" Addison asked lamely.

"Well I feel like I got hit by a truck, my ribs hurt quite a bit and so does my back where I hit the water." Meredith winced when she sat up.

"Are you sure you don't want any painkillers for that Meredith?"

Meredith laughed and then winced. "Dr. Montgomery, last time I was on morphine you talked to me and I remember nothing of it. This time I'd like to remember. Besides, I can deal with the pain, it's not that bad."

Addison sat there in silence for a minute, thinking. "You know Meredith, you can call me Addison. Dr. Montgomery is a little formal if we're going to be friends."

Meredith looked surprised. "Oh… okay, then. Are you sure? I mean, I'm a dirty mistress; I broke up your marriage and stole your husband! You're like the perfect person, leggy and successful, rich and famous… why would you want to be friends with me? I heard that part of your talk. I'm just little Meredith Grey, intern and adulterous whore. My mommy wished she hadn't ever had me, my daddy left me when I was five and has a new perfect family, I drink too much tequila and sleep with inappropriate boys. Like George! I even gave up for a second in the water because my mother was lucid for the first time in five years and is ashamed of me and says I'm a disappointment since I haven't decided a specialty and I'm ordinary! Why bother with me?"

By the end of her tirade Meredith felt exhausted and drained and even less confident than usual. There was no way Addison would want anything to do with her now.

Addison was shocked when she listened to Meredith's speech. Meredith thought she was leggy! Hold that thought though- Who had known that she had so many problems?

Addison spoke in a soothing voice and took Meredith's hand. "Meredith, I want to be friends with you because you are an extraordinary person and you're strong. Do you think any other person would be able to go through all of this and come out on top? Most people would have given up years ago if their mothers constantly told them that they were a disappointment. You fought, proved her wrong and succeeded. You are the most promising intern at Grace this year and are going to go on to do great things. I didn't declare my specialty until right before the deadline and look at me now! Let me make one thing very clear: my marriage was dead long before you came into the picture, and if anyone is an adulterous whore it's me. I slept with Mark before you even met Derek. He was absent Meredith, that's what ended our marriage. I just didn't believe it and both of us needed closure. I'm sorry that what we did hurt you. Meredith… whenever you're ready to talk about what happened the other day I'll be here. Friends?"

Meredith thought about what Addison said and smiled. Did she really think that Meredith was extraordinary? The thought that she could was absurd but comforting to know that someone felt that way. "I… yeah. Friends."

"Excellent." Addison grinned and stood up, smoothing out her scrubs. "I have surgery soon so I have to go make sure the patient gets prepped. And Meredith?"

Meredith looked back up at her. "Yes, Addison?"

"As soon as you're out of the hospital and walking, we're going shopping. My treat." Addison smiled at the young intern.

"I… okay." Meredith grinned back, surprised. "Bye, Addison."

"See you later, Meredith."

* * *

**A/N: **Do I deliver on my promises or what? I promised that it would be up by mid July and here it is! It's 2:30am my time though, so I'm not too sure what you guys will think of it. Addison seems a little OOC here but I'm trying my best to get into her head. This might turn into a two or three story series, I'm not sure yet. Let me know what you guys think so I can make improvements!

Posted July 16th, 2009


	2. Around You

Obligatory disclaimer: sadly, Grey's Anatomy is property of Shonda Rhimes and ABC, not me.

**A/N:** So sorry that this took so long guys, I had trouble with this chapter and I was in and out of hospital for tests a lot lately so I haven't had time to write. I have chapter 3 started and chapter four or five, not sure which one it will be yet, is finished. Thanks to cluzyspaz13 for adding this story to their favourites, to NaleyOTH23, juffiestees and rulerofallthingevil for adding this story to their alerts list (sorry if you get a double notice- I had to delete the chapter and fix it) and to kikky for reviewing! I should be updating again either later today (I'm GMT -5 so right now it's just after 1am :D) or tomorrow for sure. I think I got into Derek's head pretty well in this one. Just so you know- it might be MerDer now, but expect that to change soon! As always- reviews are greatly appreciated!

* * *

The next afternoon found Meredith sitting in her hospital bed eating with Izzie, Cristina, Alex and George, who had brought her real food and her laptop. Meredith's head was pounding and as much as she wanted quiet she didn't want to be alone.

"So Mer, what's this about you becoming all friendly with Satan?" Cristina said.

Meredith shrugged. "She's not that bad. Besides, she's been here more than Derek and the rest of you and it's easy to talk to her."

"_She's_ _not that bad_? Okay then Mer. Remember that when you're being all bitchy because Satan did something Satan-y and you go all dark and twisty on me again," sneered Cristina before she got up and left the room to go back to the pit.

"Don't listen to her Mer, she's just stressed over the wedding." Izzie said sympathetically.

Meredith just raised her eyebrows. "Whatever."

George cleared his throat nervously before speaking. "Mer, what happened? In the water?"

Meredith visibly stiffened.

"C'mon Bambi, leave it alone. We know that you and Barbie want to know but have some respect. She doesn't want to talk about it." Alex intervened with a scowl.

"But-"

"Leave it, Barbie."

Izzie and George's pagers went off then and they left the room, promising to see her later. When they had left, Meredith looked at Alex for a moment before speaking.

"Thanks, Alex. I really appreciate that." Meredith had always been able to talk to Alex because inside they were both the same- dark and twisty.

Alex just shrugged. "No problem. I get that you don't want to talk about it right now."

He paused, looked at his shoes and then continued. "But, ah… if you want to talk about it you know where I am. I've got to go though, I have surgery with Bailey."

Meredith smiled. "Thanks, Alex. Have fun in surgery for me!"

Alex nodded and left, leaving her alone again. She could not wait until they finally discharged her and let her go back to work so she could do surgery again.

Several hours after Alex left, Derek had come in looking all gloomy and had sat by her, holding her hand and listening to her breathing. She had looked at him funny, and they had talked for a while about a surgery he had performed on a crash victim who had a traumatic subdural hematoma and had thankfully pulled through the surgery. Since he was in a coma and was only 2 hours post-op, Derek had gone on-call in case of complications. Meredith was too tired to talk a lot so she mostly nodded at what he had to say to show that she was listening.

* * *

Around 9 o'clock, Meredith started to fall asleep and assumed that Derek would go and sleep in an on-call room or even in his office.

She woke up three hours later to find him watching her.

"Der?" she mumbled sleepily.

He ran his fingers through her hair soothingly. "Go back to sleep Mer."

"How bad is it?"

"Hmm?"

"On a scale of one to ten, how bad is it?" She stared at him, now awake, daring him to lie.

"Eight," he sighed.

She sat up and hugged him as tightly as she could before kissing him. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's all going to be okay." He held her and rubbed her back until she calmed down and fell back asleep.

When he put her back onto the bed he sat there, watching her and thinking.

He had told her it was all going to be okay, but how did he know?

'She always avoids and runs,' said the voice in the back of his head. 'How do you know that she won't do it again?'

'No, she won't. I'll help her, I'll make sure we're fine.'

'Ah, but you, Derek…' continued the annoying voice. 'When the going gets tough, McDreamy gets going.'

'That's not true!' he protested vehemently.

'But it is, Derek. What about Addison? When things started getting difficult you spent all your time at the hospital. When Addison cheated on you with Mark you moved clear across the country. How do you know that you won't be absent again? More importantly, how does she know that?'

'Because I love Meredith more than Addison! I won't run from her.'

'Whatever you say,' said the voice snidely. 'Just remember that the first sign of insanity is talking to yourself. Arguing with yourself is several steps worse.'

Derek rubbed his eyes tiredly. He really needed to sleep.

* * *

Meredith had woken up once more when a nurse had come in to check her vitals. She had been surprised to see that Derek was still awake and staring at her.

"Derek. Go to sleep! You have surgery in 3 hours."

He had just shrugged and kept watching her.

Meredith started to get pissed off. "Derek Christopher, if you don't get some sleep you'll end up killing someone! I'll be fine; there are people everywhere. Nothing is going to happen to me. Now go to sleep!"

He huffed angrily before getting up. "Fine."

He bent over and kissed her. "Love you Mer."

"You too."

As soon as she was sure he was out of the room she closed her eyes and went back to sleep, only to be woken again by Cristina storming into her room.

"Meredith!"

Meredith groaned. "What, Cristina? I'm trying to sleep."

"I think Evil Spawn has a thing for Satan!"

Meredith's eyes flew open and she sat up as fast as she could.

"Oh, ouch. Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously! Barbie was up around the NICU and she saw them staring at each other. Then I watched the c-section they did together and it was like watching you and McAss- too much eye sex!"

"What! No- but Addison is normally so professional!"

"Well Mer, Satan had Evil Spawn squirming, that's for sure!" Her pager sounded. "Damn, gotta go! It better be surgery. Bye, Mer!"

"But Cris- you can't just- UGH!"

Meredith collapsed against her pillow, pondering this latest bit of gossip. She had heard stuff from the nurses' station, but she hadn't believed it. After all, the nurses generally seemed to think gossiping was their job.

How the hell was she supposed to sleep now?

* * *

Posted July 21st, 2009


	3. Giving Up

Obligatory disclaimer: sadly, Grey's Anatomy is property of Shonda Rhimes and ABC, not me.

**A/N:** Some of you may think this is fast but I didn't really agree with how quickly Meredith went back to work after the accident or how little she stood up for herself. Plus if I was completely following the show, I'm pretty sure Addison wouldn't be friends with her. Anyways- this chapter features ballsy!Meredith.

* * *

Around dinnertime, Meredith looked up from her email to see that Derek was standing at the living room door. It had been two and a half weeks since the accident. She had been released a week ago and would be returning to work in about 4 days. Actually, she still had to make plans with Addison.

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, are you coming in or not? My mother always said that people who stand in doorways never succeeded. Said it to me quite a lot, actually. That's why I remember it. Which is a pretty crappy thing to remember because I'd rather remember the knight one, or the one with the water. Still, it's pretty amazing. I can't remember idioms very well!" She blushed when she realized that she had been rambling again.

Derek had visibly flinched when she mentioned water, but sighed and sat down next to her. "Sorry Mer, I've been busy. Surgery, you know…"

Meredith looked at him coldly. "I know all about surgery and how it preoccupies time, Derek Shepherd, or have you forgotten that my mother was Ellis Grey? That's not an excuse. I almost died, Derek, and you can't even be bothered to come and see me during the day, to come by the house other than late at night? You should be ashamed of yourself! You pulled me out of the damn water, you breathed for me, you hovered for hours until I was released and now that's it? That's all I get? At least at the hospital I had Izzie, Cristina, George, Alex, Richard, Adele, Addison and even Thatcher and Susan spending time with me! But now they're working or unavailable and can't stop by as much so I'm all by myself in this huge house. And where are you? With them. Working! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Derek's face turned alarmingly red as he yelled. "How dare you compare me to that bitch! She didn't give a damn about you and I'm here now, aren't I? Was she ever there when you needed her? No! So I'm sorry that there are patients that need to be saved, Meredith, but you don't need to be so damn selfish! Yeah, I hovered to make sure you were still breathing because I was fucking terrified when that little girl told me you were in the water! Pulling you out of the water, breathing for you, do you think I wanted to do that? Do you think I enjoyed sitting in the hallway for hours wondering why you went in that water, thinking that you had done it on purpose?"

Meredith gasped and flinched when he said that. "How _dare_ you!"

"How dare I what, Meredith? While I was sitting there, being comforted by Mark and _Addison_ of all people, you were in some happy place because you were dead, Meredith! That's what happens when you don't swim hard enough! You can swim, Meredith, you're a grown woman! You were ten feet from the fucking dock! You could have made it, you could have swum! You won't talk to anyone about what happened and you're shutting me out! If this is how you're going to be, Meredith, then set me free and end my misery. I can't fucking breathe for you anymore. I can't do it."

Meredith stood angrily and put her hands on her hips. "Derek Christopher Shepherd, what makes you automatically think I can swim? My mother was Ellis fucking Grey; all she cared about was become a world-renowned surgeon! Do you think she had time to ferry me back and forth to swim class? Maybe Thatcher took me to a class or two before he left but you can't fucking assume that I can swim! I fell 12 ft into that water Derek; I had the welts on my back to prove it! The patient knocked me in and hitting that water winded me! Then the water was so cold, and I fought, dammit, I did! Do you think I wanted to drown? And then for just a second, just one, I thought about how my mother hated me, my father abandoned me, how you chose Addison over me, and for one second, I thought, what's the point? No one really loves me. So I stopped swimming."

Meredith had tears running down her face and took a deep breath before continuing. "Then I realized that I didn't want to die, but the water was so cold, I couldn't fight it! But then when I was in limbo or whatever and Denny said that my dying would change you and Cristina and George, and that all I would get of you and my friends was a whiff and that wasn't enough for me! So I fought. I came back for you! So don't you fucking accuse me of giving up when I came back! I haven't talked about this because it fucking sucked, okay? You accuse me of being selfish- I had a near death whatever and you taking time to talk to me would be nice! You're the one locked up in the hospital, cutting endlessly and looking for excuses to avoid coming to stay with me. Do I need to remind you that your marriage with Addison was falling apart because you were absent, Derek? You started staying at the hospital more and more! You don't want to breathe for me? Fine. I don't want you to have to breathe for me because I am a strong woman! I don't need you. You want to be freed, to not have to breathe for me anymore? Fine then Derek. We are over. We are so over it isn't even funny. I can't believe I didn't see this side of you before! You are a free man, Derek Shepherd. Get out."

Derek's face blanched as he realized what she had said and he tried to walk closer to her. "Meredith, I didn't mean- "

"Yes you did, Derek. Now get away from me and out of my house."

"But Mer- "

"Don't you 'Mer' me! Now get out of my fucking house!"

Seeing that she was livid and not backing down, he left the house defeated. Never had he thought that Meredith, his Meredith, would actually break up with him. He decided that he would get her back but would give her some space for now. When he got back to the trailer, he called Richard and requested some time off to go visit his family and figure out what to do to get her back because she belonged with him.

Five minutes after Derek left Meredith got up and locked the door before collapsing onto the couch and sobbing. She couldn't believe that she had missed how much of an ass he was. Pulling out her cell phone, she tried to figure out who she could call.

'Cristina is out,' she though wryly, 'she would find him and beat the shit out of him, which is something that can be done after when we have a plan. Plus she'd bring tequila and I can't drink so that would be depressing.'

'Izzie and George are out since they're both on-call tonight. Besides,' she mused, smirking, 'I don't feel like baking and watching chick flicks with Izzie and George has Callie. Alex has enough stuff to deal with.'

After staring at her phone for a good twenty minutes, she chose a number and hit call, waiting nervously for the person to pick up.

"Hello?"

* * *

**A/N:** I've always wanted Meredith to yell at him like that- she has it in her too, we all saw that with her reaction to him calling her a whore! Plus I don't believe Ellis would have taken her to any sort of lessons. Anyway, yes, it's a cliffhanger, but I'm sure you can guess. Also- I would really, really appreciate reviews guys (and girls.) They make me more motivated to write because really, I like to know that people are actually reading! Next chapter will hopefully be up in a few days.

Posted July 27th, 2009


	4. Sort Of

Obligatory disclaimer: sadly, Grey's Anatomy is property of Shonda Rhimes and ABC, not me.

* * *

There was static, then a whimper and a voice so soft she barely heard it. "Addison?"

Addison tried to place the soft voice. "Meredith, is that you?"

Silence. Then another whimper and a quiet murmur of assent.

"Are you okay?"

"I… no. Not really." It was said just as softly as before, but with a hint of defeat that Addison had never heard from Meredith before.

Addison paused. "Do you want me to come over?"

"Can you?"

"Of course. It should only take me about 15 minutes, okay? Do you want me to pick anything up?"

"No, I'm good."

Addison laughed. "No you're not. I'll see you soon, Meredith."

"Okay. Thanks, Addison." Meredith hung up the phone and then curled back up on the couch to wait.

When her cell had gone off, Addison had just got back to the hotel after a 6-hour surgery and had answered without checking the caller ID. She had been extremely surprised when she found out it was Meredith- she had never expected Meredith to call her when she was distressed. No, she expected her to call Yang, or even O'Malley and Karev.

Feeling honoured that Meredith trusted her, she quickly changed into more casual clothing and went back out to her car. Since she had been to Meredith's to visit once since she had been released she had no problems getting there and just 20 minutes after the phone call had been placed she grabbed her supplies out of the car and knocked on the door.

When Meredith got up off the couch she peeked out the window to make sure Derek hadn't come back. After making sure it was Addison, she unlocked the door and opened it, gesturing for Addison to come in and greeting her quietly.

After Addison had put her purse on the table there was an awkward silence for a minute before she spoke.

"Do you want to come into the living room? Most of my stuff is in there right now."

Addison nodded and followed her into the living room. After Meredith had curled up into her own spot on the couch and Addison had settled across from her, Meredith started to speak.

"I… I'm sorry to bother you. But Cristina would bring tequila and I can't drink plus she's all worked up about the whole wedding stuff, Izzie and George are on-call and Alex is off but he's been a little… preoccupied." By the end of her quiet speech Meredith was looking at her hands.

"Hey, it's alright, I don't mind. I said you could call if you wanted to talk or hang out. Plus I'm pretty sure I still owe you a shopping trip."

Meredith looked up at her. "Are you sure?"

Addison smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Meredith shifted again to curl up into herself more. "Derek came by a while ago. I haven't seen him much lately, he's been hiding at the hospital."

Addison smiled wryly. "He likes to do that."

"Yeah well, I'm not putting up with his shit. I know how it goes- they stay at the hospital more and more, get more surgeries, sleep in on-call rooms instead of coming home and then suddenly you only see them once a week! I'm not going through that again."

When Addison looked at her questioningly, Meredith added. "My mother. She did it the first time, said I had to learn to be independent. She always cared more about her career than me."

Addison looked shocked. "I had no idea."

Meredith shrugged. "I'm used to it. Anyway, then I called him on not checking on me as much since I'd been released and he said I was selfish because there were 'patients that needed to be saved.' I get that, but I almost died and I know that the hospital hasn't been that busy lately and there are other neuro attendings. Then he said that I went into the water on purpose. Where the hell did he get that idea? I'd been looking after that little girl all day and there were patients, like the one that freaked out and knocked me in, that needed to be saved. That was a 12ft shove into that water and believe me, it hurt like hell. I can't swim, so it honestly doesn't matter if the dock was only 10ft away from me- I was in shock, the water was cold and I can't swim! So apparently I was in a 'happy place' because I was technically _dead_ and he was 'stuck' with you and Mark."

Addison was pissed. "He actually told you that he thought you went in the water on purpose? First off, he said that to me and I told him that I didn't think you had gone in on purpose and not to give up hope until there wasn't any hope left. Secondly, Mark was there most of the time, not me, because I was helping them save you, telling your friends that they might have to prepare themselves because Miranda couldn't do it and saving my own patients. Thirdly, Richard, Miranda and I have been literally shoving him out the door and denying him surgeries that the fellows could perform because he needs to spend time with you. Lastly…" Addison paused here. "How the hell is a brain surgeon so brainless!"

"You did? Thank you… I didn't know that all of you had to step in like that for me. I really appreciate it, but his brainlessness and his tendency to be an ass have gotten to be much too much. He told me he didn't want to breathe for me anymore and if I was going to avoid talking about the accident and shut him out to put him out of his misery and set him free." Meredith started crying again.

Addison gasped.

Meredith sniffed and continued, "So I did. I told him that I was strong enough to breathe on my own, that I didn't want him to have to breathe for me… and then I set him free. I used to be independent and now I'm reduced to this over a guy, and McBastard at that! How am I supposed to do this Addison? I still love him." The last bit was said quietly while she wiped at her tears with the Kleenex that Addison had passed her.

"Meredith, I hate to say this, but I was with Derek for 15 years and he will hurt you again once he does it the first time, even if he doesn't mean too. The first time he acted like a true ass I just brushed it off, thinking it was a phase. Then it turned into him being obsessive, hovering, wanting to know where you are all the time and from there it went to him being absent and never paying attention to me. When I cheated on him with Mark it should have been the final straw but I had been so desperate to get his attention that I chased him here, and ruined your relationship. I'm sorry for that, I am, because you two would have had a chance before I ruined it for you."

"But as much as I still love him, I know I can't do it again, Addison. Look, in the space of 8 or 9 months we've gone through just about everything your marriage went through. If I'm honest with myself, I'm in love with what we were before you came. He asked me to take the rest on faith- and I did- and then you showed up and suddenly I find out he has a secret wife."

Addison winced. "I probably could have been nicer with that introduction."

Meredith laughed. "Honestly, the bluntness of it helped drive it home faster. Really though, how could that introduction have been pleasant? Think about it."

Addison did, and came to the same conclusion as Meredith. "You're right."

Meredith smiled. "I know. Anyways, he's right because I cannot trust him after everything he's done. Prom just kind of… happened. I didn't want it to, I was happy with Finn and I didn't want to hurt you. He made me feel like a real dirty mistress after that and he shouldn't have hidden the fact that he was married, separated… whatever, in the first place. At least if he had been honest I would have been able to make a decision. I don't know that much about love but I do know that that's not how you treat the supposed "love of your life."

Addison shook her head. "No, it's not. I just got used to it and kept thinking he would change. I didn't let him walk all over me but I did let him get away with quite a bit."

"Well I'm done with him trying to walk all over me. My mother did it and but I won't go down that road again," Meredith said determinedly. "He'll probably bother me at work, won't he?"

"That's what he did last time, so I don't see how this time should be any different."

"I thought so. Maybe I can talk to Dr. Bailey and the chief about not letting him request me."

"Tell you what. I think Karev's learned his lesson, so if you want I can request to have you on my service until I say so."

Meredith brightened. "Really? Do you think it would help?"

Addison shrugged. "I don't see why not. You haven't been on my floor very much and it will help you avoid having confrontations with him until he gets control of himself. I'm not on until 3:30 tomorrow so if you want you can come in with me and we can talk to Richard before my shift starts."

"Okay. Thanks Addison, I really appreciate it."

Addison smiled. "Not a problem. Do you want to watch a movie?"

"Sure. Is 'The Pursuit of Happyness' okay? I haven't seen it yet."

"Sounds good. Do you want to get a pizza?"

Meredith grinned. "Sure! What do you like on yours?"

"Pepperoni, cheese, and bacon."

"Sounds good. Just warning you, I eat a lot of pizza."

Addison laughed. "Just get an extra large then and you can eat the leftovers later."

Meredith got up and ordered the pizza while Addison put the movie on.

When George and Izzie got home 5 hours later, they were startled to see Meredith and Addison passed out on the couch with several pop cans and a box of pizza on the table.

* * *

**A/N:** Hey guys! I've had a sketchy muse and family over so this past week it's been difficult both to write and to get on. Last night I was finally able to write when my 6 year old cousin hit her head on the fan. This was followed by chaos in the form of spazzing adults while I cleaned her up and got the wound to stop bleeding. She's fine now, just a little bit of a headache and a scab on her head. In case you didn't know, superficial head wounds result in a lot of blood! A plus- my mum had to admit that I would be make a good doctor. So if it hadn't been for that unfortunate interruption you guys would have had this either late last night or early this morning. Thanks to the people who reviewed- I'm answering them as soon as this is posted- and guys, more reviews equals more motivation for me to write!

Next chapter contains chats with Drs. Webber and Bailey as well as a possible side of Derek and the Shepherds. Should be up this week (unless I get the job I applied for!)

Posted August 3rd, 2009


	5. The Way I Am

Obligatory disclaimer: sadly, Grey's Anatomy is property of Shonda Rhimes and ABC, not me.

**A/N:** Hello all! I would just like to say that I have no idea where this chapter came from, it just kind of happened. I did grammar checks on all the chapters today, including this one and chapter six, which is going up at the same time as this one, with chapter seven coming as soon as I find it. Look at the author note at the end of chapter six for why this took so long and my plans for this story. Without further ado... chapter five!

* * *

The next morning, Addison woke up to the slamming of a door (but hang on, why wasn't she in her hotel room?) and the sound of Cristina Yang's voice.

Right. She had fallen asleep on Meredith's couch, with Meredith curled up on the other side and their legs tangled together.

"Meredith Grey, get your ass off that damn couch you've been living on this instant, I need to- " Cristina broke off abruptly when she saw Meredith and Addison on the couch. "Hold on- Mer, why is Satan on your couch? Are you two even awake?"

Addison groaned and opened her eyes slowly, willing the room to come into focus. "I am now Yang."

Meredith put a pillow over her eyes and nearly growled. "Fuck off Cristina, it's too damn early."

Cristina yanked the pillow away from her as Addison slowly sat up. "Well too damn bad, it's 8am and we need to talk. Now."

Meredith rubbed her eyes and sat up. "Well then, shoot."

Cristina eyed Addison. Meredith sighed and glared at her. Addison cleared her throat to break the awkward silence. "Meredith, where's your bathroom? Is it alright if I take a quick shower?"

Meredith pointed while still glaring at Cristina. "Sure, go ahead. Upstairs, third door on the right."

As soon as Addison had left the room Cristina fixed Meredith with a pointed glare. "So are you going to tell me why Satan was on your couch with you this morning?"

"First off, her name is Addison, not Satan. Secondly, maybe I just wanted to talk to someone who wouldn't try to ply me with tequila I can't have!"

"Well, well, well, someone's bitchy this morning. Did Evil Spawn come by last night? Or were Barbie and Bambi sickeningly sweet when they came home?"

"I've barely seen Alex since I was released because he's always with Ava and I haven't seen Izzie or George since before they went to work yesterday. This has nothing to do with them."

"Oh, is it McDreamy again? That's what it always is, isn't it Meredith?"

Meredith answered quickly, not wanting to talk about Derek with Cristina. "No, it's not about Derek! It's about the fact that my mom is dead and in an urn in my closest, I'm stuck here and while I'm stuck here all of you guys are at the hospital in surgery!"

'There,' she thought, satisfied, 'I didn't lie but I didn't exactly tell the truth either.'

Upstairs, they heard the water for the shower turn on. Cristina plopped down on the couch across from Meredith. "So Burke wants me to pick a colour scheme and a cake and get married in a damn church! I said you, me, City Hall. He agreed. Now I have Mama Burke and my own bitch of a mother breathing down my back and I had to go try on wedding dresses, Meredith. I had to pretend I liked it." Cristina shuddered.

Meredith just looked at her. "Look, at least you have a mother that's alive and cares enough to help you plan your wedding. Choose champagne or olive green or some other colour that Izzie and Callie agree on. Just don't make me wear pink."

The room fell silent again and after several minutes they heard the water shut off.

"Look, Mer, why didn't you call me? Why did you call Satan and why the hell was she on your couch?"

When Meredith finally spoke her tone was icy. "I didn't call you, Cristina, because I didn't want to listen to you bitch about your wedding. Or you going on about why everything is about Derek and have you drink tequila in front of me when you know damn well I can't have it because of my pain meds. That won't help me at all, it will just make me even more miserable then I already am! Once again, her name is Addison, not Satan, and she was on my couch because we were eating and watching a movie and we passed out. It's my house and I can do as I damn well please."

"Look Meredith, if it weren't for her you wouldn't even be in this situation because he would have stayed in New York and you wouldn't have got involved with him. It's her fault in the first place."

Addison had just come down the stairs and flushed guiltily at Yang's words. They did have a modicum of truth in them, after all. If she hadn't been such a whore... she listened again when Meredith started talking.

"Cristina. It's not just her fault. If Derek hadn't been absent then Addison wouldn't have been spending more time with Mark Sloan, and if _Mark Sloan_ could keep it in his pants or had any morals then he wouldn't have screwed his best friend's wife. I'm pretty sure that they all share the blame equally for that." Meredith was seething and struggling to keep her voice down, mindful of Izzie and George who were sleeping.

Cristina had no such qualms. "It always comes back to McDreamy for you, doesn't it Meredith? It's all about him and you and you know what, he's right, you are pretty damn selfish when you want to be."

Meredith interrupted her. "Oh that's rich, Miss 'I'm-Going-to-Complain-About-My-Overbearing-Mother-Who-Actually-Cares-About-My-Wedding' to someone whose mother just died and wouldn't have given a damn if she were alive! It's the principle behind it, Cristina!"

Cristina just stared at her.

Meredith and Cristina's fighting had woken Izzie and George and the two of them were standing with Addison on the stairs, leaning against the wall, listening and occasionally peeking around the corner.

"Good morning, Dr. Montgomery." Izzie whispered.

"Dr. Stevens." Addison's eyes were glued to Meredith, who stood with her hands balled into fists, face flushed and chest heaving. 'Damn, that's hot!'

"Morning Dr. Montgomery." George rubbed his eyes. "What are they fighting about now?"

"Well Dr. O'Malley, Yang came over this morning, woke us up and tore into Meredith about me being here. They were talking about Yang's wedding for a while, and then Yang insensitively mentioned her mother and set Meredith off. Now they're arguing about myself, Derek and which one of them is more selfish, which started because Yang called me Satan and Meredith defended me." Addison stated this matter-of-factly in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

Izzie stared at Addison. "Uh… why?"

Addison looked at Izzie and raised an eyebrow. "We're friends. Now shh, they're starting again."

"At least I didn't let myself drown! You said yourself that you gave up for a second. Why didn't you fight? The fact that you came back doesn't count!"

Izzie gasped quietly. "Ouch, low blow!"

"You know what- "

Meredith was interrupted when George, who had been the farthest up, lost his footing while leaning in and slipped, crashing into Izzie and Addison and leaving them all in a heap on the floor.

Meredith turned and glared at them. "What the hell is going on?!"

Addison, George and Izzie all smiled sheepishly.

"Well, I was on my way back down from showering,"

"And your fighting woke George and I up,"

"But we didn't want to interrupt you," Addison finished.

George looked worriedly from Meredith to Cristina and back again. "Please don't kill us!"

Cristina glared at them and stormed out of the house, while Meredith threw up her hands as if to say 'well what can you do?' and went upstairs to her room.

George got up from where he was sprawled on top of the women and helped them up before announcing that he was going back up to bed. Izzie said goodbye to Addison and followed him up.

Addison went into the kitchen and made some coffee for herself and Meredith. Once it was done, she grabbed some cream packets from the fridge and some sugar from the cupboard before pouring the coffee into two cups and heading upstairs. Once she got to Meredith's room, she knocked tentatively, unsure of her mood.

"Come in, Addison."

Meredith was sitting curled up on the floor, looking out the window. "It's not raining today."

"No, it's not." Addison sat down next to her and handed her the cup of coffee.

"Thanks." Meredith added cream and sugar before taking a drink. "Mmmm, caffeine."

Addison sat quietly and watched her. She had noticed how petite the younger blonde was at the hospital but it suddenly struck her how childlike she was. It wasn't that she was naïve or looked exceptionally young, but the way she curled into herself like a child seeking protection. Protection, Addison mused, that from what she had heard Meredith had not experienced since she was very young.

"On sunny days after the storms my dad used to take me to see the ferryboats and then to the Space Needle," Meredith said abruptly. "The last time he took me I was 5. It was the day he left my mother and I, and I remember the next day there was a horrible storm. My mom went off to the hospital that night after I was in bed and for the first time there wasn't anyone there to tell me stories or sit with me when I was scared of the storms. I got over that fast, believe me."

Addison put an arm around Meredith, who had paused to take a sip of her coffee.

"About a month later there was another storm, and the next day 'Uncle' Richard came by and him and my mom took me to the park because Richard remembered how much I hated storms."

Addison looked at her in surprise. "You knew Richard?"

Meredith smiled wryly. "I've known Richard since I was a baby. After everything that happened, he was my father figure, I guess. He remembered to send me birthday presents, Christmas presents, graduation presents. He was at my graduation from Dartmouth and sent me a card of congratulations when I got accepted into med school. You can imagine how surprised I was when he was at my grad- I hadn't seen or spoken to him in years."

Addison smiled. "Richard was always like that, always getting involved. He was like that back in New York all the time. He went there after his fellowship and only came back to Seattle when he was offered Chief of Surgery here."

"Anyways, my mother and Richard had been having an affair. I know that now, but I remember my mom putting me on the carousel and walking over to the edge of the playground to talk to him. I remember seeing them shouting and my mother crying, but I didn't know what was wrong. All I remember is being stuck on that carousel, spinning around and around and around, watching another father figure walk out of my life. I hate carousels now. Richard, at least, kept in touch. I hadn't heard from Thatcher until Molly came into the hospital as your patient."

"Is that why you were so surprised to see him in your hospital room?" Addison asked softly, watching Meredith intently.

"Partly. It was odd seeing him there, but I'm glad he remembered that my favourite flower is lavender. He brought pictures of my half sisters, Lexi and Molly, as well as a few of Laura and most of his pictures from when I was young. I'm sure Susan made him do that but it was kind of nice, even if it was awkward because well, he left me and now he has this big happy replacement family… he didn't even try to keep in touch or call me… he didn't even fight for custody when they divorced, he just wanted away from Ellis so he could be with Susan." Meredith stopped and took a deep breath.

Addison grinned, there was the Meredith she knew and loved. She had been getting concerned with the lack of rambling for a while.

"Anyways, the past is the past. I can't keep a hold of my temper right now… first Derek, then Cristina. It's ridiculous."

Addison rubbed her back soothingly. "Why don't you take a shower, and then we can run over to the hotel quickly so I can change and head out for breakfast. Sound good?"

Meredith nodded her assent and got off the floor quickly, holding out a hand to help Addison up. "I'll meet you in the living room in a little bit, alright?"

Addison brushed off her pants. "See you in a few."

* * *

Posted September 26th, 2009


	6. So Long

Obligatory disclaimer: sadly, Grey's Anatomy is property of Shonda Rhimes and ABC, not me.

* * *

After Addison had gone back to the Archfield to change, the unlikely duo had headed out into downtown Seattle to a quaint diner that Meredith remembered going to in her youth. She claimed they had the best pancakes, and proceeded to order them and devour them as if she had not eaten in days. Addison, who had opted for eggs and bacon, had tasted a bit of Meredith's pancakes and promptly agreed. They were now walking around the city's shopping district, with Addison looking positively gleeful and Meredith looking distinctly nauseous.

"Addison, I'm not that much of a shopper. Really."

"I am though, and your wardrobe needs an update. All the new summer lines have just come out and even though we live in rainy Seattle you could still pick up a few new pieces."

Meredith had quickly learned that with Addison, resistance was futile and soon found herself the new owner of an amount of clothes large enough to be a new wardrobe, at least 10 pairs of shoes and 4 new bags. They had had fight number two in the first store, when Addison had pulled out her credit card to pay and Meredith had objected, saying she could pay for it herself.

"I'm not broke you know, I already had a large trust fund and I've recently inherited at least six million dollars since my mom never spent any and just let it pile up."

Addison just looked at her in the way that made Meredith agree with the devil nickname and she surrendered once again. So it was three hours later that an exhausted duo returned to Meredith's house laden with shopping bags, which were promptly put away in Meredith's closet. They went downstairs and reheated pizza and some soup that had been in the fridge for their lunch.

While they had been eating, Addison had been looking at Meredith with a pensive expression on her face. 'Her hair is really nice, but if she had it trimmed, with the layers just a little bit shorter yet long enough to put in a ponytail… and maybe some red and dark brown highlights… yes, that would look quite nice!'

Meredith clearing her throat interrupted her musings. "Is there something on my face?"

"Nope," Addison replied cheerfully, "Just thinking about what to do with your hair!"

Meredith's hand flew up to grasp her dirty blonde locks. "Addison… what do you mean, 'do with my hair'?"

Addison grinned. "See, there's this really nice place in town where I get my hair done at, and while we were shopping I may have made a reservation there for you in about… oh, 20 minutes."

"Addison! There is nothing wrong with my hair!"

"No, there isn't anything wrong with it, not necessarily. When was the last time you had it cut?"

Meredith squirmed uncomfortably under Addison's piercing stare. "Um, 5 months ago? I haven't really had time."

Addison grinned triumphantly. "See! This will help with your self-confidence, Meredith. Not only will you feel like a million dollars but you'll look that good! Now let's go, you don't want to be late."

With that, Meredith was ushered out the door and into the passenger seat of Addison's car.

An hour later, Meredith was sitting with her hair in foils, wondering how the hell she had ended up in this position. 'Honestly, is this the Twilight Zone? There's _red_ in my hair. I mean sure, it's a lovely color and it will look amazing with the mocha and my natural blonde, but that's the farthest I've deviated since the pink haired days! If she makes my hair shorter than is acceptable for a pony tail I will kill her.'

This last thought was directed at Addison, who was sitting next to her reading a new issue of Vogue, having just gotten her hair retouched. When they had entered the salon Addison had promptly told the stylist exactly what to do with Meredith's hair, making sure that Meredith had no clue what was being done... other than the red highlights. She had seen the color when Addison had pointed to it in the styling book.

When the women left the salon at 1:30, they had just enough time to go to Meredith's house again for Addison pick out an outfit for her to wear to the hospital. Addison eventually settled on black leggings, a flowing royal blue cap-sleeved tunic top and a pair of yellow ballet flats. Meredith's look was completed with mascara, deep purple eyeliner, and shimmery pale gold eye shadow to compliment her grey-green eyes, while her lips were tinted with a soft pink lip-gloss. Overall, Meredith was astonished at how pretty she looked. Her hair fell in soft curls and had been given lots of dimension with the new layers and the red-and-brown highlights. She didn't normally put very much makeup on but was pleasantly surprised that it had only taken less than five minutes. Addison looked stunning as usual in her black skirt, light blue shirt and black Prada heels. Meredith wasn't even positive that Addison had anything other than mascara and some brown eyeliner on.

She had just finished transferring her essentials- house keys, Blackberry, wallet, pager (just in case), lip-gloss and a hairbrush- into her new dark brown purse when Addison walked into the kitchen.

"Ready to go?"

Meredith nodded, picking up her cream coloured coat and folding it over her arm just in case.

Addison looked her up and down to check that she looked okay (in fact, Addison thought she looked more than okay- she thought she looked fabulous), grabbed her coat and her car keys and walked towards the door.

"Alright then, I'll drive since you won't be cleared until your appointment tomorrow- "

Meredith scowled at the reminder, but Addison pretended not to notice and continued.

"If it's alright with you I'd like to grab a coffee from Starbucks and then we can go talk to Richard, it's only 2pm so there's still an hour until my shift starts."

* * *

It was only when they pulled into Addison's parking space near the front of the hospital that Meredith started to get nervous. What if they ran into Derek? Or Cristina? What if the Chief and Bailey said absolutely not and stuck her with him? Honestly, at this point even staying on permanent scut would be preferable to dealing with him for the next little bit.

Addison noticed Meredith's squirming and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "You'll be fine."

Meredith smiled at her gratefully before getting out of the car and following Addison into the building. She paused inside the doors and took a deep breath, savouring the smell of the hospital.

Addison had paused with Meredith and then looking at her and receiving a nod, began walking purposefully towards the elevators. Pressing the button for the surgical floor, Addison was glad that the elevator was empty except for the two of them; she didn't think the nervous intern could deal with a crowded elevator right then. As the doors opened, she prayed they could get to the chief's office unscathed.

Meredith eyed the crowded halls with apprehension, following Addison as she walked quickly towards the chief's office and hearing people call to her in greeting. She smiled at them and hurried to keep up, only pausing to give Alex the finger and a scrub nurse, who she thought was named Rose, a dirty look after she had made a comment about her finally learning how to dress when Alex had wolf-whistled jokingly. Seeing the door of the chief's office approaching, she tightened her grip on her coat and tried to remain confident.

The pair walked into the reception room of chief's office and sat down to wait after Patricia told them that he was in a conference call and would be done in a minute. When Richard's voice called for them to enter, Meredith gulped and followed Addison in.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, so some of you may have seen my profile update at the beginning of this month and know why it took so long for me to get chapter 5 up.  
1) I had a nasty case of writer's block and by the time it was cured my house was full of people coming and going so I was constantly distracted.  
2) My grandmother passed from a brief but devastating battle with cancer at the beginning of this month and it has been incredibly hard for me to find not only inspiration but time. I was recently out of proovince for a week for her funeral and to go through her things.  
3) School has just picked up again and I am unusually busy right now with all the catching up after missing 6 days of school.  
4) Honestly, if I'm going to take the time to write, I would like some feedback. I am one of those people who lurks occasionally, but 99% of the time I review stories. I'll add them to my story alert so I can find them again when I have the time to read them, and if I have time I review them. It would just be nice to know that I have readers (having to go and check the story stats doesn't count. I know you're there, people! I'd like to hear your voices.)

A huge thank you to everyone who has added me to author/story alert, reviewed or added this story to your favourites since the last chapter! There were quite a few names but I figured that instead of me taking the time to go through my email and find them you would want me to work on more chapters.

In regards to the path this story is taking- chapter seven is Meredith's meeting with the chief and I think there was maybe something about Derek in there, but I can't find it right now and since I wrote it before I left I can't remember. The coming chapters will shift view points and will include Meredith returning to work. As I am mostly following the path the show took, all of you know that Addison goes to L.A. to visit friends in S3 and then leaves the show. While I'm changing many things about this season and consequently the following ones, I would like to know what you guys think. Should she go to L.A.? Should she stay there, and should Meredith go with her? I know some of it depends where their relationship goes but let me know what you think about it please! I am also planning a sequel to this story so keep in mind that whether she goes or not will have a big influence.

If you want to follow me and find out when I'm planning an update or how the chapter is going, check out my lj account- http:// andyoullenjoyit . livejournal . com . If any of you are lj users that could help me with some really simple problems I'm having, could you please PM me? Thanks so much.  
Stay tuned for chapter 7!

(PS- This only added about 500 words, the chapter was already over 1000 words. Shorter than usual, but still.)

Posted September 26th, 2009


	7. Maybe

Obligatory disclaimer: sadly, Grey's Anatomy is property of Shonda Rhimes and ABC, not me.

* * *

Richard Webber was a perfectly reasonable man. When Patricia had sent him a memo during his conference call saying that he had an attending and an intern wanting to speak with him, he was mildly irritated that she had interrupted him and hadn't given him names. When the door opened and Addison walked in, he stood up and came around his desk to greet her, expecting Karev to be behind her since he was in the middle of a shift, though Addison's didn't start for another 40 minutes. He was startled, to say the least, when it was not Karev but Meredith Grey that followed the neonatal attending in.

He shot Addison a look as if to say, 'Really Addison, terrorizing the poor girl already?'

Addison responded with a small smile and a shake of her head.

Richard looked at her intently for a minute before turning to Meredith, who was fidgeting nervously. He had no doubt whatsoever that if Meredith was speaking right now she would be rambling, a rather endearing trait in Meredith that had been horrible on her father. There was something different about her… she was certainly a little more thin, a side effect of the accident no doubt, but there was something else. A second later it dawned on him. Her hair had more colour in it than usual, a sight he hadn't seen since a picture he had gotten from Ellis of a certain pink-haired teenager, and she was dressed more fashionably now than she had been since her first year of medical school.

"Addison, nice to see you again," he shook Addison's hand genially and turned to Meredith, pulling her into a brief but warm hug. "Meredith, look at you! I'm glad to see you've been taking care of yourself while you've been on leave."

Meredith chuckled. "Well I had to do something, didn't I? I had no clue what to do with myself Uncle Richard; you've had me off nearly three weeks now! This," she waved her hand at her clothes and hair, "is actually Addison's doing, she dragged me out shopping and somehow conned me into getting my hair done."

Richard looked at Addison and nearly snorted at the look of innocence on her face. "In any case, Adele will be happy to see you looking so well. Now what brings you two ladies here? Since you took her shopping Addison, I'm guessing you two have solved your problems and become friends?"

Addison nodded. "Oh yes Richard, we're past that." She looked at Meredith questioningly and Meredith indicated that she wanted to continue.

Meredith took a breath and addressed Richard formally. "Actually Dr. Webber, we're here about my schedule once you let me return to the hospital."

Richard raised his eyebrows. "We were going to give you reduced hours when you came back Dr. Grey, we were just going to let you know when you come back next week. Is that what this is about?"

Meredith shook her head. "No Chief, this doesn't have anything to do with hours, in fact if I could keep regular shift lengths that would be fantastic."

Addison inwardly sighed, that girl would work herself into the ground. "Chief, we would like to discuss Dr. Grey's assignments, actually."

"Really? What about them?"

"As you know, Dr. Karev has been permanently on my service for the last several months and as I am sure he has learned his lesson, I would like to request that Dr. Grey be on my service for the next several weeks."

"How do you feel about this Dr. Grey?"

Meredith shrugged. "I haven't really done neonatal very much sir, but I love babies and am open to the experience. Plus last time I worked with Addison, on the quintuplets, I enjoyed it and learned a lot."

Richard stared at them for several minutes, scrutinizing their facial expressions and their reasoning. Meredith, he thought, looked slightly peaky and anxious. Folding his hands atop his desk, he cleared his throat.

"I thought you were leaning towards neurosurgery, Dr. Grey. Does this have anything to do with the fact that my head of Neurosurgery has requested a week off to go and 'find himself'? He seemed quite distressed."

Meredith clasped and unclasped her hands. "Well, we did have a rather… vicious fight and I ended things with him. I didn't know that he was requesting time off sir. While I know that in the past we have been able to keep our relationship at work professional, I feel like he may take advantage of my status as an intern to get back at me, so to speak, for ending our relationship. I think that it would be beneficial for me to be unavailable to him, both at professionally and personally, until he has accepted that we are finished."

"Well as long as there aren't any interruptions that disturb my patients, Dr. Grey, then that's fine and I'm sure it can be arranged so that you skip out on your neuro rotation for a week or so after he comes back." Richard sighed. Things had been so much easier before this year's interns had come along. "We will need to discuss this with Dr. Bailey, as a group," he looked pointedly at the two of them. "However, since she is in surgery for the next 2 hours barring complications, I will send her a page asking her to meet us in my office as soon as she is finished. While we are waiting for her, Meredith, I can check on your progress. You had an appointment to be cleared to return to work and to drive tomorrow, right?"

Meredith nodded, trying not to look too ecstatic. "Yes sir. I've been off the pain meds for two or three days now. There hasn't been too much pain unless I sleep funny or overdo it and the swelling has gone down considerably… the contusions and abrasions on my back have healed as well."

"Good, good." He stood up and the three of them walked out of his office. "Change into a gown and we'll head down to X-ray to check on your ribs. Addison, you can meet us in exam room three after you round on your patients."

"Yes… my patients. Shall I let Karev know the good news?"

Richard shook his head. "Not until we figure out when Meredith is coming back." He raised his hand to stop her from vocalising her protests. "Young lady, I promised your mother I would take care of you and if your ribs are not healed enough then you will not return to work until they are."

Meredith put her arms on her waist and pouted. "But Uncle Richard… I'm going crazy! My mother would have gone back to work last week. Couldn't I at least chart and observe? Please?"

"Meredith Anne Grey, you are not your mother and I am your boss. So until I have given you the all clear the answer is a firm no. You have enough hours already that you aren't behind and you're a brilliant intern and don't need to worry about the exam coming up next month." Richard glared at her sternly, daring her to argue with him.

Meredith just sighed. "Fine. Lead the way then. See you later, Addison."

Addison waved, looking distinctly amused before turning and walking towards the attending locker room to put away her bag and grab her lab coat.

* * *

In OR 3, a pager sounded and one of the scrub nurses, Rose, checked to see whose it was. "It's yours, Dr. Bailey."

Miranda Bailey didn't look up from the body cavity but held out her hand impatiently. "Clamp please." After making sure that the patient was stable, she acknowledged the nurse. "Who is it?"

Rose read the page. "It's from Dr. Webber."

"Well what does he want? I'm elbow deep in this man's large intestine, I can't go anywhere." She was slightly impatient, she had already been in surgery for 3 hours and by the looks of it had at least another 2 to go. Why couldn't the damn nurse get to the point?

Rose continued, oblivious to the death glare being sent to her by the Nazi. "It's not 911, just wants to see you in his office as soon as you're out of surgery. Says it's important you stop by before you leave."

"Alright then." Dr. Bailey cleared her throat before surveying the intestine. "Yang, hold the clamp. Can I have a 10 blade, please?"

She turned her focus back to the surgery, making a mental note to find out what the chief wanted after- shit!

The sound of gushing blood greeted her ears. "Yang, what did you do? Another clamp, now! Yang, I need you to stitch right there or this man is going to bleed out," and then impatiently, "Yes, right there, I have over here… keep going Yang, you know how to do this." They almost had the bleeding controlled when the monitors flat lined.

"Charge to 150!"

"Clear!"

The patient's body convulsed. No response.

"Charge to 200!"

"Clear!"

They waited again.

"Charge to 300! For God's sakes man, don't do this!"

"Clear!"

Finally they could hear the beeping of the monitor start to regulate and Bailey motioned for the nurses to put the paddles away. "All right people, let's finish this up without him coding again."

* * *

An hour or so later found Meredith in her regular clothes again, waiting in the exam room for either Addison to come in or for Dr. Weber to come with the results from her X-rays and blood tests. When the door opened, she smiled at Addison widely. "Hey! How are your patients doing?"

"Good, they're doing well. Molly brought Laura in for a check up today, she's strong and developing well. I've scheduled a C-section next week for a woman with triplets and an in-utero surgery for a woman whose son has spina bifida… the child is almost to term, I can't understand why her ob-gyn didn't catch it before, it's glaringly obvious." Addison wrinkled her nose in disdain.

Meredith chuckled. "Well Addison, we aren't all as good as you!"

"Thanks." She grinned and hopped up onto the bed next to Meredith, swinging her legs childishly. "So do you have the results back yet?"

"Nope." Meredith sighed. "He should be back any minute now."

The two sat in silence for the next 10 minutes or so until Richard walked in with the X-rays and lab results in his hand. Putting the X-rays on the screen, he handed Meredith her labs. "As you can see, you're blood results came back clean so I don't see why you can't drive. If the pain keeps up, don't take anything stronger than Aleve or Extra Strength Tylenol and avoid the alcohol for at least another week."

Meredith grinned. Freedom at last!

"Now, about your ribs. The fractures all appear to be healing nicely and there is minimal bruising as you can see. You said the only tenderness you were experiencing was between 5 and 6 and it appears as if that should be cleared within the next few days. Today is… Thursday? The way things are I can allow you to return to work on Monday. At that point your discomfort should be minimal."

"Seriously?"

"Yes Meredith, I am serious."

Meredith looked as if she was the cat that had eaten the canary, making Addison grin. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Richard's pager went off. "That's Patricia, Dr. Bailey is waiting for us. After you, ladies."

The elevator ride up to his office was mercifully quiet as it was only the three of them and a visitor to the hospital who knew nothing about the gossip.

When the three walked into his office, Dr. Bailey was already sitting in one of the chairs across from his desk. He walked around to his side, leaving Meredith and Addison to take up chairs next to her.

"Miranda, thank you for coming. How did your surgery go?"

Before answering, Dr. Bailey glanced suspiciously at the intern and attending. "Mr. Jenkins had the blockage and the tumour removed successfully and while he coded once on the table there were no other complications. Dr. Yang is currently with him in post op."

"Ah, excellent. Now, there is a matter of scheduling that we need to discuss. As you know, Dr. Grey will be returning to work on Monday. Dr. Montgomery has requested to have her on her service for the next two weeks or so."

'Well,' thought Miranda, 'that explains why the two of them are here.' "Okay, so I should inform Karev that he has been freed? And Grey- what did you do? You aren't even back at work yet!"

Meredith looked at her resident innocently. "I haven't angered Dr. Montgomery at all, Dr. Bailey. I'd just like to try my hand at something other than neuro for a while."

"She's right Miranda, we're all good," Addison chimed in with a smile.

Dr. Webber shook his head at the three strong willed women across from him. "Also- Dr. Shepherd will be replaced with Dr. Brown for the next week so any interns that are on neuro can be directed to him."

Dr. Bailey just looked at Meredith. "Honestly Grey? Talk. Now."

"Derek and I are no longer seeing each other and as I would like our relationship at work to remain professional we need to take time apart because last time it didn't work out so well… and exams are coming up and he'll do the sniffing thing and it's so distracting and he'll make me lose my game… I just can't deal with him right now, Dr. Bailey." Meredith rambled in her usual style, stopping to take a breath.

Miranda looked at her and her expression softened marginally for the young woman who had just been through hell and back. "Okay then Grey. Addison, are you all right with sharing her with Drs. Burke and Sloan every once in a while? She still needs hours in their departments."

Addison nodded her assent. "Fine with me Miranda."

"Thank you Dr. Bailey."

Miranda gave Meredith a rare smile. "Not a problem."

As Meredith and Addison stood up to leave, Miranda spoke again. "Oh, and Meredith?"

She looked over her shoulder. "Yes Dr. Bailey?"

"Don't do anything stupid before Monday. Keep taking care of yourself, you look good."

Meredith smiled at her resident. "Thanks. See you Monday for rounds!" With that, she turned and nearly skipped down the hall with Addison following her.

Miranda sighed and turned to the chief. "How long until they're together?"

Richard blanched. "What? Meredith and Addison? What makes you think that?"

She just shook her head. "I just know, sir. It's the way Addison looks at her. It's the same way Dr. Shepherd did, but more intense and with more respect. Look at Meredith, Addison's already worked on her confidence."

Richard had to agree with that. "I don't know, Miranda. Maybe they'll end up together, maybe they won't. It depends on Derek's reaction when he comes back."

Miranda scowled. "That man will stay away from that poor woman if he knows what's good for him. He's done enough to her and she doesn't need to suffer any more." She snorted. "McDreamy my ass."

"Even so-"

The sound of Miranda's pager interrupted Richard. "That's me- 911 in the pit. I'll bring you the schedule after, Chief."

With that the short woman left his office to rush down to the ER, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

* * *

**A/N:** Hey guys! I know it's been two weeks but this is the longest chapter yet (it's 7 pages on Word- I think it's longer than 5&6 combined!) so I hope that makes up for it. I'm all caught up with my schoolwork now so I'm going to try to update once a week, probably on the weekends. It's Thanksgiving weekend in Canada and I'm not in school again until Tuesday so hopefully I can get chapter 8 up before I go back. Thanks to CordeliaHalliwel for the review as well as to rheaps and femslashlvr for adding this to their alert list and to LR-kmyl for adding it to their favourites! CordeliaHalliwel: I meant to answer your review but I've been a bit busy- I do have trouble writing Cristina. But did this chapter answer your question? Miranda Bailey knows all!

Posted October 11th 2009 (12:45am EST)


	8. Empty Bottle

Obligatory disclaimer: sadly, Grey's Anatomy is property of Shonda Rhimes and ABC, not me.

* * *

Meredith had been back at work for a week and felt like she was going to collapse. Knowing that she still had 26 hours left on her shift, she stumbled into an on-call room, pleasantly surprised that it was empty. She threw herself on the bottom bunk, not bothering to lock the door or take off her shoes and fell asleep quickly, oblivious to the world. Meredith remained that way for the next 4 hours until her pager went off, waking her up abruptly. Feeling much better, she stretched and adjusted her scrubs before reaching for her pager. The message she saw brought a smile to her face, even if she had been woken up. 'Meet me in the NICU- Addison.'

She took off to the NICU at a brisk pace, waving to Alex who was leaving for the night and heading for the stairs. She figured that since _he_ would be back in less than 16 hours she should start avoiding them now. When she got up to maternity she saw Addison leaning over an incubator, checking a baby's heart and lungs and cooing at him. 'She would make a good mother,' Meredith thought idly. After Addison had made a few notes in the baby's chart and was just staring at him, Meredith snuck in behind her and put her hands over her eyes.

Addison jumped, startled. "Jesus Meredith, are you trying to give me a heart attack!"

Meredith smirked and leaned against the counter. "Maybe. What did you page me for?"

She sighed and put the chart back. "As you know, your shift doesn't end until 2pm tomorrow and mine ends now, so since you're on my service I wanted to go over the patients before I left. Mrs Henderson in 319 is still under observation for her pre-eclampsia, if all goes well tonight I can release her tomorrow morning so I would like you to check on her once tonight. Baby Smart is, as you can see, doing well and he should be fine, I've asked a nurse to keep a close eye on him." Here she pointed at the baby she had just been checking and then moved down a few incubators.

"The Barry twins are recovering well from their surgery this morning and I would like you to check on them every hour until 3am when Olivia is up here again. We had to drain Maria's lung and Stephen coded once but they are stable other than that. The nurse on duty has instructions to page you if you're needed. If anything happens and you get paged to the pit, page a nurse to supervise the twins. If they code or complications arise, page me immediately and I'll be in as soon as possible."

She turned away from the babies and looked at Meredith closely. "Did you sleep? You look a bit better now."

"Yeah, I was sleeping when you paged me, I got about 4 hours."

"Are you nervous?"

"About him being back? Definately. It's been too easy so far."

Addison hugged her tightly. "You'll be fine. Feel free to come and hide up here, it won't be that suspicious since other than tomorrow when you're with Dr. Burke you'll be with me."

"Alright. How do you think he'll react?"

"To us being friends? Not well, but he's a grown man. Just remember how much he hurt you when he tries to turn up the charm and you'll be fine. Now- you said that Stevens was taking your car when she gets off tonight, right?"

Meredith nodded.

"Okay, so I'll pick you up at 2 when your shift is done, I'm officially off tomorrow. We could go out for lunch if you'd like, or if you think you'll be too tired we can go to your place?"

"Well we'll see how I feel when I finish, I might get some sleep tonight. He's due around 10 tomorrow I think so I may just spend the last four hours of my shift up here if Dr. Burke finished with me early. Am I meeting you here or at your car?"

"I'll meet you up here." Gathering her stuff, she gave Meredith another hug. "Be strong, alright? It will all work out." Impulsively she kissed her on the cheek before walking out of the NICU. "See you late Mer!"

Mer smiled and waved. "Ciao Addie!"

After Addison had left the room, she sank into the chair next to Maria's incubator. Seeing that the baby's bright blue eyes were opened, she slipped her finger inside and let her grab it. "Well aren't you a nice strong little girl!" she cooed. "With those pretty blue eyes and your dark curls your mommy is going to be beating the boys away from you!"

Maria gurgled in response. "And you're smart too! Just remember that boys are bad for you Maria and you would do well to go and be a nun. Or not, because then all the sisters will walk around singing 'How do you solve a problem like Maria?' and then you'll be sent off to be a governess and you'll fall in love, get your heart broken and then get married anyway… so maybe you should just stay away from pink hair, alcohol and inappropriate men. Like best friends or people who tell you to take the rest on faith and turn out to be married! Those, Maria, are always off limits." She nodded seriously at the baby, glad that no one else was in the room.

She stood up and took out her stethoscope. "Now Maria this is going to be a little bit cold, okay sweetie? Oh shh, don't cry, it will be over in a minute."

After recording Maria's lung progress in the chart she checked on Stephen and then went to catch Mrs Henderson before she fell asleep.

Seeing Mrs Henderson and her husband having a rather intense conversation, she knocked politely on the door before entering.

"Mrs Henderson? My name is Dr. Grey, I just need to do a quick ultrasound and check the fetal monitor."

Picking up her chart, Meredith read that Margaret Henderson was a 26-year-old primary school teacher and marathon runner who had a family history of pre-eclampsia and was in the 25th week of her pregnancy. She had been admitted that morning after suffering unusual fatigue, dizziness, cramping and some spotting.

Looking up from the chart Meredith saw that Mr. Henderson was scowling and walking towards the door. "Mr. Henderson? You can stay, I'm not going to be very long."

He shook his head. "No, I need to get back to the firm. Margaret will be fine."

Meredith just looked at him as he stormed out the door and then grabbed the cart with the ultrasound machine from the corner. "Okay, so if you could lift up your gown for me Mrs. Henderson… there, that's it. This is going to be a bit cold."

Mrs Henderson hissed when it came into contact with her skin. "You can call me Maggie, everyone does. Is the baby alright?"

Meredith had been using the wand to locate the baby. Flipping on the volume, a soft whooshing sound filled the room, signalling the baby's steady heartbeat. "Yes Maggie, everything looks fine. The heartbeat is nice and strong and I'm sure Dr. Montgomery told you how well the baby is developing so far. The only concerns so far are the pre-eclampsia and the baby's positioning, but the baby may still turn and if you take it easy you should be fine. That means no more marathons until this baby is officially in this world!"

Maggie nodded. "Yes, Dr. Montgomery explained that to me. That's what Greg and I were arguing about, he wants me to run my race next week but I told him not to be stupid. He doesn't really want the baby; he says it will take up too much of our time. He also thinks it's stupid for me to wait to find out but what does he know! I want to be surprised."

"He'll come around Maggie, a baby is a wonderful gift." Meredith said sympathetically. "Now I have to go check on a few other patients and then go find some food. I'll see you in the morning, hit the call button if you need anything!"

* * *

After checking on one other patient, Meredith made her way to the cafeteria to grab some fries and water. While she was sitting and eating, someone sat down across from her. "Dr. Grey. How are you?"

Meredith looked up from her food to see Mark Sloan. "Dr. Sloan. I'm still not going to sleep with you."

Mark pretended to look offended. "Meredith, you wound me! Maybe I just want to enjoy your lovely company."

She rolled her eyes. "Honestly Mark, just because we're the co-founders of the DMC doesn't mean you need to sit with me. Don't you have anything else to do?"

He shrugged. "Not really. Derek's not back here until tomorrow and even then he's still not speaking to me, Addison won't talk to me and the nurses have formed a coalition. It's just you and me babe. Us dirty mistresses have got to stick together!"

"Fine, whatever. If you touch my food I'll kick your ass."

After a few minutes of eating in silence Meredith spoke again. "You realize that by the shift change tomorrow morning it will be all across the surgical floor that we slept together, even though all we did was sit here and eat? I'll bet you twenty bucks that Derek punches you in the face again."

"Fine then Grey, but if I win then you owe me coffee." There was a pause in which he picked up a piece of food off his plate and offered it to Meredith. "Want my pickle?"

Meredith laughed and slapped him on the arm. "Mark! No means no, okay?"

He pouted. "Fine, just wanted to try. Are you heading back upstairs?"

She had gotten up and thrown out her garbage. "Yes, I was planning on heading to the coffee cart first."

"Mind if I come with?"

She just looked at him strangely. "Sure, why not? Since you're such a gentleman you can even buy me coffee."

Mark sighed. "Fine. What do you want?"

Meredith grinned. "Extra-large caramel macchiato please!" She took extreme satisfaction to the sight of Mark fetching her coffee since he normally made interns get his. 'And the tables have been turned!'

Suddenly she heard laughter behind her. "Well Meredith, I never thought I would see that!"

She turned around to face a grinning Callie Torres. "I know! How are things with you and George? Are you liking the new apartment?"

Callie and George had gotten an apartment together after Meredith and Addison had pointed out how silly it was for them to live apart or in a hotel since they were, after all, married. They had found a place across from the hospital and had just finished redecorating. In the process, Meredith and Callie had gotten past their issues and were now good friends.

Callie grinned. "It's fantastic, Meredith! George seems to be trying more now, which is so good. I really want this marriage to work, you know? I think it's easier now that we're living together and he's not around Izzie as much since she doesn't like me. Speaking of her, did you know that her and Karev got a lease on an apartment about a block away from us? I heard her telling George this morning, she said she was moving all her stuff today since she's not in until 5pm."

"What?" gasped Meredith. "Are you kidding me? She hasn't told me at all, and I'm basically her landlady! Not to mention, what the hell am I going to do with that house all to myself? I can afford it, that's not the problem but it's huge!"

She shrugged. "I don't know, Meredith, but I'm sure you can figure something out. At least now you can redecorate it if you wanted to. Oh- here comes Mark with your coffee."

Sure enough, there was Mark with not two, but three cups of coffee. "Meredith, Callie." He handed one to both of them, looking pleased with himself. "There you go ladies… Callie I saw you talking with Meredith while I was in line so I got you your usual."

"How do you know mine, Mark?"

Mark laughed. "Steve, the coffee cart guy knows you two pretty well. I pointed to where you two were standing and he goes 'A caramel macchiato for Grey and a double-double for Torres?' and I just nodded since that sounded about right."

Both girls smiled at him. "Well thanks Mark!"

"Well I'm off to the NICU again," Meredith said looking at her watch. "Callie, are you headed up to the surgical floor?"

"Yeah, I have emergency surgery in an hour, I have to make sure George knows what he's doing for pre-op. I would have asked for you but he was on call and you were in the middle of a shift owned by Addison."

They waved to Mark and headed over to the stairs, Callie knowing why Meredith was avoiding the elevators without her saying anything.

* * *

By the time 5 am came around, Callie had scrubbed out of surgery and Meredith had just come up from the basement where she had spent the last two hours asleep. They crossed paths on their way to the locker room from the coffee cart.

"Callie."

"Meredith."

"How did your surgery go?"

"It went well, a few complications but Mr. Johnson will definitely walk again. How are the little angels up in the NICU?"

Meredith laughed. "All of them are good, none were very fussy last night and no one coded. Is your shift done now?"

Callie yawned and nodded. "Yeah, I'm not in again until tonight. When are you off?"

Callie had followed Meredith into the intern locker room to wait for George. "2pm. It won't come fast enough. Maybe his flight will be delayed and he won't be here until 3 so I'll be out of here." She finished putting her hair up just as George came in.

"Morning George."

George smiled at Meredith and kissed Callie on the cheek. "Morning Mer, Callie. Ready for rounds Mer?"

"Oh you bet I am," she said sarcastically.

"You'll be fine."

Callie kissed George quickly. "Anyway George, I'm off. I'll see you when I come in, you'll be done by then right?"

"Yes. Have a good day!"

He watched Callie leave the room before plopping down on a bench across from Meredith. "I am so exhausted."

Meredith snorted. "Seriously? God George, I'm on hour 39 of my 48-hour shift. I could just curl up and die right now. At least you had an exciting surgery."

George knew better than to argue with a tired Meredith so he just nodded. Needless to say he felt extremely grateful when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Morning Meredith, how are you?"

Meredith smiled through her yawn. "Addison! I'm good, a bit tired. How are you?"

"Good… I'm going to sleep again after this but I wanted to catch you before rounds. How long do you have?"

"Rounds start in 40 so I'm good for a while. What's up?"

"How did everything go last night?"

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Everything went fine Addie, if there had been a problem that I couldn't deal with I would have called you or paged you. It went well, everything was quiet."

"How's Mrs Henderson?"

"She's also doing well, the fetal heart beat was strong both last night and 20 minutes ago when I checked on her. Her cramping has finally stopped so you should be able to discharge her today."

"Good, good. How are you?"

"Honestly I'm trying to keep busy. I'm with Dr. Burke this morning and I just checked the board so I'll be in surgery from 7 until 9 and again from 10 to 1. Hopefully McAss will leave me alone."

"Okay. I'm coming in around 1 to check on my patients, so I'll page you when I'm done with them so we can go, okay?"

"Alright Addie, that sounds good. I'll see you later."

"Bye Mer."

"Bye."

She hung up and put her phone on her belt next to her pager, making sure the volume was up on her pager but only on vibrate for her phone. Looking at George, who had fallen asleep on the bench, she stood up and slapped his arm. "Hey, George. Get up! Let's go, we can wait for Bailey outside."

Pulling George up they went and found Dr. Bailey at the nurse's station filling out a chart.

"Morning Dr. Bailey!" Meredith said smiling.

Dr. Bailey looked at the clock, then the two interns in front of her. "Grey, O'Malley. You're half an hour early for rounds and Grey, you're happy. What's going on?"

"Nothing Dr. Bailey, just excited for my shift to end and I already had coffee. George was on-call and in surgery last night and I was in the NICU keeping an eye on the twins Dr. Montgomery operated on yesterday. Babies make me happy."

"The fact remains Grey, that no one who has been on for 40 hours is ever this happy. O'Malley, rise and shine. Where are Yang and Karev?"

George yawned. "Don't know, Dr. Bailey. They aren't here yet."

"Hmpf. Something fishy is going on here today… you two out here before Yang? Now, don't you do anything stupid today, you hear? If I hear one word about any funny business from the pair of you…" she trailed off, looking at them menacingly.

They both nodded obediently and there was silence for the next 20 minutes while Dr. Bailey finished her charts.

"Right. You two were extra early and since it is now… 5:50, I'll tell you two what you're doing today. Grey, you already know that you're with Dr. Burke this morning. O'Malley, you can be with Sloan on his facial reconstruction, if you get him a coffee you might even get to assist. The other two will get what they get."

George looked at Dr. Bailey. "Um… Dr. Bailey?"

She sighed. "Yes O'Malley?"

"Can I go and get that coffee now?"

"Run, O'Malley!"

George took off, returning seconds before 6am yet beating Alex and Cristina who stumbled out of the locker room at 6:00 and 6:01 respectively.

"Let's go Karev, Yang! You're late!"

They both grumbled but followed Dr. Bailey into the first patient's room where George took the chart from Dr. Bailey and then silently handed Dr. Sloan his coffee, earning a nod of approval from him.

"Dr. O'Malley, I like your style."

Dr. Bailey rolled her eyes. "O'Malley, present."

George cleared his throat. "This is Meaghan Waters, 37, admitted yesterday for facial reconstruction following a car accident. Dr. Sloan has OR 2 booked for the procedure at 7am."

After Dr. Sloan had asked George a few questions, Dr. Bailey nodded. "Good, like I said before you can scrub in."

Moving on to the next room, Dr. Bailey turned to Meredith. "Grey, present."

Cristina scowled, having wanted on Burke's service today.

"John Foster, 45, admitted last night following a collapse on the job site. He was found to be have excessive blockage in his arteries and Dr. Burke will be performing a triple by-pass at 9am."

"Good, Grey, you already know that you're with Dr. Burke today."

After rounding on two more patients they came to their last one. "Hm… Karev, go."

Alex smiled. "This is Ann-Marie Hutchings, in to have an aneurysm clipped at 11 am when Dr. Shepherd returns."

Herding her interns out into the hallway, Dr. Bailey turned and addressed them, handing them the appropriate charts. "O'Malley with Sloan, Grey with Burke. Go." As the two of them left she returned to the remaining two. "Karev, you're on clinic duty with me until Shepherd gets here for surgery and Yang, you're in the pit."

"But Dr. Bailey-" Cristina was cut off.

"Don't but me, Yang. If you had wanted a surgery then you would have been here early like Grey and O'Malley were or on time. Now get going, your patients are waiting!"

With that, Cristina went down to the pit and Dr. Bailey followed Karev to the clinic, leaving the nurses to gossip about why Dr. Grey had been seen eating with Dr. Sloan last night and looking so happy that morning when she had showed up early for rounds.

* * *

**A/N:** Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian readers! I had originally intended to post this chapter once it got to the scene with Mark but then Callie made herself known and I had to continue. Once again, this chapter has stolen the title of 'longest chapter yet.' Chapter 9 has been started and if I have time it may even be up before Saturday since I got a lot done this weekend. Thanks once again to CordeliaHalliwell for reviewing and OTH4EVR, georgi and SVU-4-eva for adding this to their story alert!

Posted October 13th, 2009


	9. Breakable

Obligatory disclaimer: sadly, Grey's Anatomy is property of Shonda Rhimes and ABC, not me.

* * *

'It's a lovely day in Seattle,' thought Derek Shepherd as he walked into Seattle Grace for the first time in a week. 'Sunny, temperatures in the high 70s, no rain until tomorrow… yes, a lovely day it is.'

His happy mood lasted all the way up to the surgical floor and, thankfully for Mark and Meredith, all the way into the afternoon. In the elevator many people had quietly greeted him and as he got off he strained to hear the conversation going on between the two nurses in front of him.

"Did you see them last night? They were laughing and eating together."

"Yeah I did, and did you see her this morning? If that wasn't an 'I just got laid' smile then I don't know what it was."

"Didn't take her long to move on to the next person though did it? I mean he was only gone for a week, I wouldn't be surprised if she had made the phone call as soon as his flight left!"

Derek's curiosity had definitely been peaked but unfortunately the nurses weren't using any names and they had walked away before he had a chance to ask. Approaching the surgical board he looked and saw that at the moment he only had one surgery and he was going to be observed by Karev.

Looking over the board, he searched for the name of the person he was looking for. 'Damn,' he thought, 'she has back to back surgeries with Burke and she'll be gone before my surgery finishes.'

Seeing that it was 10:30, he headed over to the nurses station to page Karev. This time he listened to the gossip, searching specifically for names. At the same time, Drs. Burke, Sloan, Grey and O'Malley were leaving the ORs together after their patients had coded (Burke and Grey) or the surgery had finished (Sloan and O'Malley). As luck would have it, the moment Derek heard the names of the people they were talking about, he saw Meredith and Mark walking together and looking quite happy. He did the only rational thing his brain could come up with- he saw red and flew at Mark, sending Meredith flying in the process.

"Are you fucking kidding me Sloan? You just had to take her too, didn't you?" he growled, still punching him.

Mark landed a punch square on the jaw. "Meredith and I are just friends, what the fuck man!"

Derek's only response was another punch that was returned in kind by Mark. The boys and a screaming Meredith had drawn quite a crowd and Richard Webber and Miranda Bailey could be seen flying down the hallway towards them.

"Derek, Mark, stop it! Stop! We didn't do anything Derek, leave him alone!" Meredith screamed, trying to separate them and getting hit again from being in the way.

Derek struggled to stand and rounded on her instead. "And you! How am I supposed to believe a filthy whore like you? You probably jumped in bed with him the second I left, or were you with him before?"

The crowd went silent and the only sound that could be heard was a resounding 'smack' that echoed. When Meredith stepped back, there was an angry red hand print on Derek's cheek.

Shaking like a leaf, her tone was icy when she spoke. "First of all, jackass, I broke up with you and since you couldn't deal with it, you left. Secondly, Mark and I have never done anything and all we did was have dinner before I went back to work. Thirdly- we've gone over this before, you don't get to call me a whore. When I met you I was done. Then Addison showed up and I made a string of bad choices but it wasn't completely my fault! You will stay away from me on a non-professional basis, do you understand? Come on Mark, let's get you cleaned up."

Helping Mark to his feet, she nodded to Drs. Bailey and Webber as she walked past them and led Mark to an exam room.

"I believe you owe me twenty bucks."

He laughed. "Fine, you were right. Pass me a mirror and a suture kit please? You know the drill."

Meredith rolled her eyes, grabbed the kit and tossed it to him before finding a mirror and holding it where he could see his facial laceration. "That good?"

"Perfect."

There was silence while he stitched up his face. When he finished, he turned to Meredith and motioned for her to sit on the exam table.

"Mark, I'm fine."

"Kiddo, your fine and my fine have very different meanings. Dirty Mistresses take care of each other and that is one hell of a nasty cut. So sit your ass down so I can stitch you up nicely. Would you rather have me, the amazing plastic surgeon, do it or some moronic intern?"

She sighed in defeat and hopped onto the table, scowling at him as he smiled smugly.

"That's what I thought."

After he stitched her up, he checked to make sure she didn't have a concussion because she had hit the both the wall and the floor when Derek had flown at him. "Can you follow the light for me Meredith? Thanks, that's good."

She glared at him as he took off his gloves. "No concussion, you're all good to go back with Dr. Burke-"

He was cut off by the sound of her pager going off. She sighed and got up warily. "It's mine- 911 Chief's office. Wish me luck!"

* * *

While Mark and Meredith had been stitching each other up, Derek had been in the chief's office.

"Never, in all my years at this hospital, have I seen such disgraceful behaviour from an attending- aside from the _last_ time you punched Dr. Sloan! In front of patients Dr. Shepherd, honestly! What do you think they think when they see one of their doctors attack a colleague, hurting a bystander in the process? Do you think they liked the little show you put on? You are lucky that Drs. Sloan and Grey are not seriously injured." Dr. Webber was pacing angrily behind his desk, glowering at Derek who was sitting in front of it. Dr. Bailey was standing by the door, arms crossed, looking at Derek with absolute disgust.

Derek shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the mention of Meredith's name, knowing full well that he had stepped way out of line. 'So much for trying to win her back today,' he thought miserably. Then what the chief had said registered in his brain.

"What do you mean, I'm lucky that Meredith wasn't seriously injured? She didn't get hit, Mark did."

Dr. Bailey snorted and Derek turned to look at her.

"I don't know what you were thinking when you saw Drs. Sloan and Grey leaving the OR wing, but when you attacked Dr. Sloan you threw Dr. Grey out of the way and she hit the wall. People heard the impact, Shepherd. On top of that, your fist connected with her face when she tried to pull the pair of you buffoons apart."

Derek paled. "Is she- is she okay? I didn't mean to hurt her." 'Just Mark,' he thought silently.

"From what I heard, she needed some stitching and she's a little bit bruised, but other than that she's fine. You did intend to hurt her Shepherd, right from when you believed she had relations with Sloan and called her a whore."

"I-" Derek spluttered but Dr. Bailey raised a hand to cut him off.

"Don't you interrupt me while I'm talking. I've been that girl's resident since day 1, and let me tell you she has given me a fair share of headaches and more than enough near-death experiences. I have also seen her at her worst, _by your hands_, and in the last few days at her best. You may think you love her, Dr. Shepherd, but when your wife showed up, you lost all rights to Dr. Grey. Addison, the chief and myself all asked you to leave her alone. Dr. Grey explicitly told you to let her be. If I'm not mistaken, Yang threatened to castrate you with a rusty scalpel-" here the chief and Derek winced.

"My point is, Shepherd, you've given that girl enough trouble. Leave her alone and refrain from violence in this hospital because I swear on all that is holy Shepherd, I don't care that you outrank me, I will kick your ass."

Richard cleared his throat, breaking the staring contest between the pair. "On top of what Dr. Bailey has so graciously told you for me, I would like to remind you that your personal business cannot get in the way of the well-being of the hospital and its patients. What you did today was inexcusable and you are not to apologize to Drs. Sloan and Grey for your actions. This behaviour will not be tolerated anymore Dr. Shepherd.

"On a more personal basis- Derek, I have known you since you were a resident, yet I still cannot see how you turned into the person who sits before me. Meredith is like a daughter to me and if I find out you have caused her any more grief you _will_ regret the day you moved to Seattle. Understood?"

Derek nodded under the double glare he was receiving. "Understood, chief."

"Good. Now get out of my office."

He got up and left slowly, seeing Meredith waiting in Patricia's office on his way out. "Meredith…"

She looked up and spoke in a tone just as icy as the first. "That's Dr. Grey to you, Dr. Shepherd. Excuse me."

With that she brushed past him into the chief's office, leaving him reeling at the sight of her beautiful face once again swollen and scratched- but this time at his own doing.

* * *

**A/N:** First of all, in no way so I condone violence against women, but Meredith has a way of getting in the way (to be honest, this chapter just kind of happened.) All I can say about this delay is I am so sorry, but: writer's block, midterms, Shakespeare, getting over a really nasty bout of flu and ISUs. Chapter 10 is 70% complete and features Meredith's meeting with the chief and Addison's re-appearance (I really missed her this chapter!) Thanks as usual to everyone who reviewed/added me or the story to alert or favourites, all you guys are stars!

Posted November 17th, 2009


	10. Corner of Your Heart

Obligatory disclaimer: sadly, Grey's Anatomy is property of Shonda Rhimes and ABC, not me.

* * *

Meredith entered the chief's office, shut the door behind her and waited hesitantly by the door.

"You paged, Chief?"

Richard had been staring at Meredith's face and it took him a second to respond.

"Hm? Oh, yes. We need to discuss what just happened." With that, he and Dr. Bailey went back to staring at Meredith's face.

Meredith shifted uncomfortably in the doorway for another few minutes before she spoke. "Um no offense Chief, Dr. Bailey, but can you please stop staring at my face and can I please sit down? I'm feeling a little sore from my meeting with the wall."

"Of course!" Richard came around the desk and practically carried her into a chair. Once everyone was seated, Richard cleared his throat.

"Dr. Grey, can you please tell us how this started, going back to last night?"

"Well…" Meredith took a deep breath. "I was in the cafeteria last night eating dinner when Dr. Sloan sat down at my table and started talking to me. We ate, he offered to buy me coffee from the cart when I said I had to go monitor the babies, Callie joined us and he got her coffee too. He went… somewhere, and Callie and I went up to the surgical floor before I went to the NICU. I was in the NICU until about 3am when a nurse relieved me and I took a few hours to sleep. Then I went to rounds early and I didn't see Dr. Sloan again until then. When Dr. Shepherd saw us, Dr. Burke and I had just left our OR after our second patient of the morning died on the table and Dr. Sloan and Dr. O'Malley had just finished up their surgery. The next thing I knew, I was colliding with the wall and Dr. Shepherd was on top of Dr. Sloan. When you came up, I had just been hit after trying to separate them."

She winced and touched her face. "You heard what Dr. Shepherd and I said to each other. Dr. Sloan and I then went to an exam room- I held a mirror while he stitched his own face and then he stitched mine up and checked to make sure I didn't have a concussion or any new tender spots on my ribs and back. He had just cleared me to leave and go back with Dr. Burke when you paged. Oh- and don't worry Chief, his hands are fine."

Richard sighed in relief that not only was his best plastic surgeon able to operate, but that the girl he had come to think of as a niece was fine too. "Thank you Dr. Grey, we are very glad that you only suffered a minor injury in that fight and that you were innocent in the whole fiasco. Some things need to change in this hospital starting with the nurses' constant gossiping and everyone's lack of anger management."

He stood up from his desk and motioned for Meredith to stand up as well. As soon as she did, he walked around and gave her a tight hug. "Meredith Anne, next time those two fools start fighting you stay out of their way, do you understand? You are not superwoman and while I have no doubt you can hold your own, being your mother's daughter, you just got better and I don't want you back in the hospital as a patient. I'm getting too old for this Merbear!"

Meredith hugged him back and blushed at the use of her old childhood nickname. "Yes Uncle Richard. I don't want to be a patient again either… you are way too overprotective!"

Laughing, Richard stepped back and they both sat down again. Meredith had nearly forgotten that Dr. Bailey was there until she spoke.

"Grey, what did I tell you and O'Malley this morning?"

"No funny business… oh. Sorry Dr. Bailey."

Dr. Bailey sighed. "I'll let it slide this time Grey… but really, you're starting to have a thing for heroics."

Meredith flushed and stared at Dr. Bailey, mouth open. "Excuse me, I do not Dr. Bailey!" She looked at Richard for support.

"I'm going to have to agree with her there Meredith."

"What… Uncle Richard, no!"

"Oh, yes Grey. There was you putting your hand on the bomb when the paramedic freaked out, trying to save a patient and getting knocked into Puget Sound instead and now you trying to get between Sloan and Shepherd. While I don't think I ever thanked you for the bomb incident since your quick thinking saved my husband's life and the bomb from going off over the main oxygen line, it really was unnecessary for you to almost get yourself killed like that. Are you done pulling stunts like that? I'm sure that there are more than a few people that would appreciate it if you did."

Meredith shrugged. "I don't know Dr. Bailey, I mean I'll try, but these things just seem to happen to me. You're welcome, by the way. Oh, how is little Tuck doing?"

"Very well, he's sitting up on his own and everything!"

Meredith smiled at the enthusiasm in her superior's voice when she spoke about her son and couldn't help but wonder if her mother ever spoke about her like that. She was pulled out of her thoughts by the shrill sound of Dr. Bailey's pager and her subsequent exit after letting Meredith know she could go home since there were only 3 hours left on her shift and that Cristina would cover her duties.

Addison Forbes Montgomery was one incensed woman. When she saw that brainless ex-husband of hers, she wasn't just going to slap him… no, she was going to take one of her very expensive Gucci heels and beat him with them. The nerve of him to hit Meredith, even if it was an accident, and then call her a whore!

When Dumb and Dumber, as Addison had taken to calling them, had started fighting, Callie had just been called back to the hospital with complications on the guy she had operated on the night before. She was at the nurses' station looking for his chart when Derek had attacked Mark and by proxy, Meredith. Callie had stayed to watch the rest of the altercation (she couldn't help but cheer for Meredith) and called Addison immediately after to let her know what had happened. She knew that Addison was going to be Meredith's ride home and she had a feeling that Dr. Webber wouldn't be letting Meredith finish her shift.

Addison walked briskly into the hospital, checked on and discharged any patients that were ready to leave before making her way to Richard's office. Knocking on the door she waited to hear "Come in!" before entering. Upon entrance she saw Meredith and Richard talking quietly. After greeting Richard she turned to Meredith and took in the cuts on her face.

Sweeping Meredith up into a tight hug similar to the one Richard had recently given her, she exclaimed, "Honestly woman, can we not leave you alone for a few hours? I was so worried when Callie called and told me what happened! Are you alright?"

Meredith hugged her back and gasped "Addie… you have to let me go, I can't breathe!"

Addison blushed and reluctantly released her. "Well, are you?"

"I'm fine, Addie, just a few cuts and bruises."

Addison looked to Richard for confirmation, knowing how Meredith liked to downplay her injuries. She relaxed only after Richard offered her an amused nod.

"Oh thank goodness!"

"I have to agree with you there Addison, Meredith had me quite worried and I believe that Dr. Karev almost punched Dr. Shepherd himself. I know you Addison, and I know that you're going to want revenge on Derek, but all I ask is that you get your revenge outside of this hospital. Okay?"

"Alright, fine. I can live with that."

"Good. Now, Miranda and I told Meredith that she was free to go and she was just about to call you when you arrived. Have a nice day off tomorrow Meredith and Addison I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

The two women said goodbye to Richard before leaving his office and heading towards the intern locker rooms. Unsurprisingly, Addison's presence stopped people from making comments to her about the recent fight. After Meredith changed out of her scrubs and grabbed her bag, they went towards the elevators. Meredith figured they were safe enough since she knew Derek was in surgery. When she went to push the button for maternity she was surprised that Addison shook her head and instead pushed the button for the lobby.

"I went up there and checked on everyone before I went to see the Chief," explained Addison in response to Meredith's unasked question.

"Oh."

Once they got in Addison's car, Addison turned to look at Meredith. "Do you want to go home and sleep or grab a bite to eat like we had planned?"

Just then Meredith's stomach growled, making her laugh. "Well, there's your answer!"

They decided to try the new Italian place that had opened up a block away from

Meredith's house and since lunch wasn't their busiest time they were seated quickly. About halfway through their meal, Meredith broke the silence.

"Mm… Addie this cheese cappelletti is delicious, you have to try some." Meredith held out her fork and after a pleading look Addison tried some.

"You're right, this is delicious. I'd offer you some of mine but I'm sure you've had spaghetti before."

Meredith giggled. "Yes, I have. Last night I found out from Callie that Izzie and Alex got an apartment near the hospital so she's moving out. Callie thought I already knew. I'm thinking of doing something with the house but I don't know what to do."

Addison's face lit up like a child's on Christmas morning. "You can redecorate the whole house Mer! You said you wanted to do something with the basement so you can have that finished and you can put in a storage room for your mom's old files. After you clean it out you could redo her office and use it yourself! Oh and we'll have to get you cooking lessons if you're going to live there alone."

"You sound just like me with your rambling! Actually, you're still staying at the Archfield, right?"

Addison nodded. "Yes, why?"

Meredith bit her lip. "Well it's such a huge house and you must be tired of the hotel… so I was wondering if you wanted to move in? I have two extra rooms and I'm considering offering one to my sister Lexie if she decides to apply for Seattle Grace. As long as you don't mind if she ends up moving in I don't see why you can't."

Addison nearly choked on her spaghetti. Lately she had thought of Meredith asking her to move in but Addison had never thought it would happen- even though it was only as friends she was still shocked.

"Are you okay Addie? You don't have to say yes," Meredith said, taking Addison's silence the wrong way. "I mean-"

Addison finished coughing and said quickly, "I'm fine, it just went down the wrong tube. Of course I'll move in! We're friends, friends do this kind of thing when their friends are staying in a hotel and they have room, right?" She smiled widely.

"Oh, okay! Whenever you want to move in is fine with me. If you choose a room today we can get whatever you want for it this afternoon and I can paint or whatever when I'm off tomorrow. I wanted to go to the store anyway, I need a new bed."

Addison crinkled her nose in thought (making Meredith think just how adorable it was). "Which one is bigger, the one Izzie had or the one Alex had?"

"Izzie's is the bigger one."

"Izzie's it is then."

After paying for their meals, the pair linked arms and walked out to Addison's car so that Meredith could go home and rest while Addison decided exactly what she wanted to do with her new room.

* * *

**A/N: **And... Addison is back! Thanks once again to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, your thoughts are greatly appreciated! Chapter 11 to follow this weekend.

Posted November 23rd, 2009


	11. Soldier

Obligatory disclaimer: sadly, Grey's Anatomy is property of Shonda Rhimes and ABC, not me.

* * *

Two weeks previous

_Meredith had been surfing through the daytime television shows when she heard a knock on her door. Struggling to get up, she grabbed the crutch the hospital had given her and limped over to the door. Peeking through the glass she saw Susan, Molly, Laura and an older girl who she thought must be Lexie. She manoeuvred to open the door and managed a half-smile due to the pain of moving and the fact that she wasn't so sure if she wanted them in her house right now. The time since her accident had caused her to form a good bond with Molly and baby Laura, but she had never met Lexie, a med student at Harvard, and she still wasn't very fond of Susan._

"_Hi! Um… this is unexpected, come in." Meredith hobbled backwards to give them room to enter. "I don't know what we have by way of food, Izzie cooks, not me… and I think the house is pretty clean but the couch is my new room right now so sorry if the living room is a mess. If I had known you were coming by today I would have tried to clean it up a bit, you must think I'm such a slob!"_

_Molly grinned at Meredith's rambling, loving the trait that she shared with her oldest sister. Picking up Laura, she moved the baby's hand as if to wave and cooed, "Say hi to Auntie Meredith Laura!" Laura's eyes found Meredith and Molly beamed with pride. "See, she recognizes you already!"_

_Susan had brought groceries again, causing Meredith to roll her eyes and sigh in frustration. Would the woman ever learn? "Susan, we keep telling you that you don't need to get groceries for us, we can get them ourselves! You know they do let us out of the hospital occasionally!"_

_Susan called back from the kitchen, "I know that Meredith, but you interns are always busy at that hospital and I like to help out any way you can get. I even brought some things that you can make in the microwave or the toaster for when you're here by yourself, you shouldn't eat leftovers for breakfast."_

_This last comment caused Lexie's eyes to widen in surprise. "You do that too? Oh thank God, I thought I was the only person in this family who did that, no one else understands!" Realizing that she hadn't been introduced she blushed. "Oh um… I'm Lexie by the way; it's really nice to meet you. You must think I'm crazy though, we haven't even been introduced and I'm already going on about my crazy food habits and now I'm rambling and-"_

_Molly cut Lexie off with an amused laugh. "Yep, we're all related! Anyways Meredith, this is your other little sister and my big sister, Lexie."_

_Meredith smiled hesitantly. "It's nice to meet you Lexie. Mol, you know where the living room is, feel free to set Laura up in there, I'll join you in a minute."_

_As soon as Molly had taken Laura and her bags into the living room Meredith turned to Lexie and really looked at her. They had some physical traits but Meredith's hair was light and wavy while Lexie's was dark and pin straight. "You know you can come in from the doorway," she said abruptly, startling Lexie who was unused to the scrutiny of an older sister. _

_Lexie moved forward timidly, hanging up her coat and putting her purse by the side table._

"_What brings you away from school, Lexie? I heard you were up at Harvard."_

_She beamed with pride. "I just finished my fourth year of med school, we have a week and a half before our exams are graded and they choose a valedictorian for graduation. You went to an Ivy League school too, didn't you? I packed all my stuff and brought it back with me because I originally decided to spend some time with Molly and Laura. Then I heard about your accident and I thought that if you didn't object I could meet you and maybe we could become real sisters? I mean you don't have to be my sister or anything but even if we were just friends that would be cool because I've always wanted a big sister… even though I knew I had one out there somewhere it wasn't the same."_

_Meredith spoke cautiously. "Yes, I did, I went to Dartmouth and finished top of my class, much to my mother's regret." Seeing Lexie's curious look she answered the question pre-emptively. "Let me put it this way- Ellis Grey was a better surgeon than a mother and we'll leave it at that. Anyway, I don't know Lexie, time will tell. I'm… willing to get to know you, I've spent a fair bit of time with Molly and Laura the past two weeks while I was in the hospital so I don't see why I can't try this one. Just… I am not a touchy-feely person and I like tequila… lots of it. Problems? No? Good. Come in the living room, there has to be something good on this time of day."_

_With that Meredith made her way slowly to the living room where she started talking to Molly about Laura, leaving a very shocked Lexie Grey behind._

From that point on, Meredith had spent more time with her sisters until they became just that- sisters. It wasn't something she had ever expected to have but she was very glad that Molly had shoved her way into her life and dragged Lexie with her. She was still meeting Molly for lunch at least once a week but Lexie was back at Harvard visiting with friends after the graduation ceremony. Lexie had been disappointed that Meredith wasn't there but understood that she didn't feel up to travelling and she had to go back to work. Lexie had applied for an internship at Grace and had been very excited when she had told Meredith that she had been accepted.

All this led Meredith to where she was now- pacing around the piles of boxes all over her house and waiting for Molly to pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Mol! It's Mer, I have something really important to ask you."

Meredith could hear the amusement in her youngest sister's voice as she answered. "Okay Mer, do your worst."

"Is Laura at Eric's mom's today?"

"Yes, tomorrow too, why?"

"I know it's only 10am, but could you do me a super huge favour and help me paint my house? I told my new roommate I'd start it today but I have a lot to do and it's boring doing it by myself. Are you in?"

"Sure Mer, I'll be over in half an hour, okay? I'll give Lisa a call and let her know where to reach me if there's a problem. When I get there I expect details on this new roommate of yours, missy!"

"Alright Mols, thanks so much! See ya soon."

"Ciao Merrybear!" Molly hung up the phone quickly so that her oldest sister couldn't tell her off for the newest nickname.

Meredith just scowled at the phone before turning to look at the pile of boxes and sighing. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Meanwhile in the hospital basement, 3 interns were seated on the empty gurneys holding a conference about their mutual friend. Read: Izzie and Cristina were plotting and Alex was looking at his pager and praying for someone to page him stat.

"I don't get why she's pulling away from us, I didn't do anything!" exclaimed Izzie loudly. "Then I find Addison in our house on our couch sleeping with Mer and it all just went downhill from there. I mean sure, I like Addison well enough but she's encroaching on our territory! Don't even get me started on Callie…" Izzie trailed off with a scowl on her face.

"I know! We had a small argument, sure, but now she's the Chief's favourite just because she almost drowned and Satan is always around. It makes me sick, the happiness that exudes from that woman. No wonder you two moved out!"

Izzie shifted uncomfortably. "Actually Cris, we moved out because we're dating and it's more convenient for us to live right by the hospital, Meredith's is at least a 15 minute drive. The closer we are, the shorter a drive we have and the faster we can answer trauma pages."

"I like the way you think, Barbie." Cristina eyed Izzie speculatively. "Maybe I need to re-evaluate my opinion of you."

Alex jumped into the conversation. "You know for two women who bitch about losing their friend to Montgomery and Torres you sure aren't doing anything about it. You're just sitting here on your asses. Deal with whatever issues you have with Mer and let them go. She's dealing with a lot right now and she'll talk to you when she's ready. Just because she has two new friends doesn't mean she's going to forget us."

Izzie and Cristina stared at Alex incredulously. "That was a disgustingly deep and feminine piece of advice Evil Spawn, are you sure you don't have a vagina?"

Alex shook his head, vowing to remember the look of disgust and awe on Yang's face forever. "No, but when I was hanging out with Mer when she was off we watched a lot of Dr. Phil and Oprah. You would be surprised how little there is on during the day." Alex shuddered in remembrance.

He was saved from further questioning by his pager going off, leaving Izzie and Cristina to stare at his retreating back.

"Think we should do what he said?"

"As much as it pains me to admit it," said Cristina with a distinctly nauseous look, "yes, I do."

Their pagers sounded in tandem.

"Now that this has been sufficiently awkward… see you later Cris!"

"Bye Barbie!" They both raced towards their respective assignments, with Cristina praying that she had a nice bloody trauma to deal with. Others may think it was morbid and disgusting, but hey, she was Cristina Yang. Who were they to judge?

* * *

By the time Addison got back to Meredith's place exhausted from her shift at 11pm, she was expecting to find the couch made up the way it had been last night. She was mildly irritated when she found it was covered with boxes and packing papers. Hearing voices in the kitchen, she tentatively called, "Mer, is that you?"

"Yes. Addie, come meet my littlest sister Molly, she helped me decorate today. Of course you already know each other, but just so you're re-acquainted, come say hello! Mols, Addie is the roommate I was telling you about."

Molly smiled warmly. "Nice to see you again, Dr. Montgomery. I can't thank you enough for what you did for my Laura."

Addison smiled in response. "Not a problem Molly, I was just doing my job. You're Meredith's sister- and not one of my patients- so you can call me Addison."

"Okay. By the way, you have to see what we did with your room! Mer and I were working on it until a few hours ago, it looks really good. We got a couple of other rooms done too."

The trio made their way upstairs to Addison's room. She had decided to leave it the lavender colour Izzie had painted it but aside from that it looked totally different. The mahogany bed, dresser and bedside table she had ordered the day before had been set up and matching shelves had been put up to hold some of her textbooks. They had set up her new yellow and green bedspread and hung her favourite painting directly above it. Addison had to admit that they had done a fantastic job.

"Thanks ladies, I love it."

"No problem, Addie. I also talked to a contractor today. I'm going to have the basement reconfigured to have a third bathroom and shower on a separate line from the other two, a rec room put in, a laundry room and an office for you to use. I'm getting my bathroom redone too, it needs to be more modern, although I think I'll get another tub. They said that they could start construction in a few weeks, but I thought it would be nice for you to have your own office space. Feel free to use my mother's old one for the time being though, I'm not using it right now."

"You didn't have to Mer, really. I have my office at the hospital for that."

Meredith just smiled. "I was making changes anyway, and that means you won't have to be holed up in the hospital all the time, you can actually get some fresh air!"

The two sisters and Addison talked for the next half hour or so before they parted ways- Molly to the guest room, Meredith to bed since she worked tomorrow and Addison barely managed to get under the covers before she collapsed exhausted from the day's events.

* * *

**A/N:** Happy almost Thanksgiving to all my American readers! I hope you enjoy your turkey, parade, family time and long weekend. Seeing as it's about 1am my time, you can thank this early update to my inability to sleep. I hope this cleared up any questions you guys had about Meredith, Lexie and Molly's relationship. Chapter 12 to follow this weekend as originally planned. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed!

Posted November 25th, 2009


	12. Men of Snow

Obligatory disclaimer: sadly, Grey's Anatomy is property of Shonda Rhimes and ABC, not me.

**A/N: **So, so sorry for the wait! I know it's been a month but I plead the fifth (sweet sixteen + ISUs + cpu/internet issues) so please don't kill me. Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to anyone who's amazing enough to stick around! I got a new laptop though so my technical difficulties should be over. I present to you... my 2000 word apology gift.

* * *

The last week and a half could only be described as a whirlwind for anyone visiting or living at the Grey house. There had been contractors and energy auditors in and out as Meredith made further plans for the changes she was making to her mother's house. Addison, Molly, Callie and occasionally Lexie had been helping Meredith deal with the people and appointments while she had to be at work. As annoying as it was to have to deal with people on her days off, Addison was excited for the end result. Meredith had decided to have the entire basement redone and the main floor was going to be ripped out as well, among other things, since it was less modern than the upstairs and leaked valuable heat. Addison had offered to help pay for the renovations but Meredith had put her foot down straight away.

"_Meredith, let me help pay for some of this," Addison asked for what she was sure was the millionth time. "I'm living here too, it's the least I can do. Besides, I'm an attending and I come from money, I just... don't want you to find yourself lacking."_

_Meredith ignored her petition as usual. "Look Addie I do appreciate it, but I can afford this. When my mother died she left me millions of dollars, not to mention my own trust fund that has been in a high-interest savings account since I was 7 and she decided I could handle them. I went to private schools in Boston and a boarding school in Europe before I went to Dartmouth for undergrad and med school. I was taught how to 'be a lady' and handle my finances, just as you were. I don't have debt; I make thousands of dollars a week from tenants on various properties my mother owned and rented out around the world." She stood and walked over to the window, arms crossed around her chest with her back to Addison. "I can take care of myself; I don't need your money. I'm not a regular intern."_

_Addison had to smile wryly at that- there was nothing ordinary about Meredith Grey. Putting her coffee mug down she moved to stand next to Meredith. "I'm sorry Mer, I don't mean to insult you. I just want to help."_

_Meredith had whispered, "I know. I'm sorry for being so vocal."_

_Addison squeezed her shoulder. "Don't apologize for saying what's on your mind Mer, I want to know what you're thinking."_

_The teasing smile that Addison loved came back at that. "Really? Even if I'm thinking porny thoughts about our mutual ex?"_

_Addison scrunched her nose in disgust and whacked her on the arm. "Well maybe not that... ugh, Mer! Unnecessary images... you need to get him out of your head."_

"_I know, I'm trying."_

_There was a pause where the two just stood looking out the window, Addison's hand on Meredith's shoulder, before Mer broke the silence._

"_Can you come look at paint samples with me? I can't decide for the living room."_

_Laughing, the two had left and spent the rest of their rare joint afternoon off looking at renovation supplies._

There had been a lot of bonding time and Addison felt as if she was becoming part of a family for the first time since she came out to Seattle. Before it felt like she was being tolerated but now it felt like home. Granted, it was dysfunctional. There was Molly and baby Laura, Lexie, Callie, George and surprisingly Mark and Alex. No one was sure when the last two had wormed their way in but they had and were growing on everyone. She couldn't help but feel guilty that Meredith's distance from Izzie and Cristina was caused mostly by her appearance. Meredith had taken a new kick ass stance on the treatment of her friends and unless the ribbing was playful you got into shit for it, regardless of who it was aimed at. While it was a little bit scary, it was also very, very hot.

At the hospital there was a lot of gossip about Meredith and Derek's breakup, his return and her current rotation schedule. Meredith was no longer exclusively Addison, Mark, Miranda's and Burke's- Dr. Nelson, another neuro attending, had agreed to take Meredith under his wing. This allowed her to get the neuro experience she needed in an environment she could work in. She had become fast friends with Amber, Stephanie and their friend Jasmin, three interns who she had never really spoken to before but now worked with because of the mixed rotation. Interns usually formed friendships by resident and Amber and Stephanie were under Dr. Weller, a man who treated his interns and only his with respect. Thankfully for Meredith, he was nice to her largely for her name but also for the talent she displayed as a surgeon. Needless to say her relationship with Cristina and Izzie had regressed even further when she started eating with the other interns a few times a week.

Meredith was at a loss for what to do. She missed Cristina but at the same time she loved her new friends and family. Sometimes when she needed someone to go get drunk with after she wished it was Cristina instead of Addison, Callie or the Terror Twins (Amber and Stephanie) who were all great company but lacked the same understanding that Cristina had of her dark and twisty side. She was too proud to apologize for branching out when she had only done things to improve her quality of happiness and decided to wait for them to come to her. Izzie had cracked first, about 4 days after hearing Alex's opinion. She had knocked on the door with a basket full of muffins and two full of other various goodies, including a chocolate cake. Meredith had laughed, shaken her head and allowed Izzie into the house where Izzie had hugged her and apologized. Now Meredith was just waiting to see about Cristina.

She could feel her relationship with Addison changing too. They were becoming closer and Meredith loved the time they were spending together. She didn't care that they were Satan and the dirty mistress in the eyes of the gossiping nurses; they were just Meredith and Addison when they were together. Addison provided a security that she had never felt before, especially not with Derek. One of the perks about being the daughter of a world-class surgeon and living with another was that she had her mother's exam study notes and Addison's brain. Originally she hadn't wanted to ask Addison help in studying for her exam but Addison had made it clear that she was going to help her study whether she liked it or not. Lately Mer had come to cherish times like this, where the two were curled up on the couch in the living room while Addison quizzed Meredith in preparation for the exam in a week.

If she didn't lie to herself, she was seriously freaking out over the exam. It was one of the biggest in her career and even though Addie assured her that she would pass with flying colours she couldn't help but feel chronically unprepared. When she spoke to the other interns in her circle of friends she found they all felt the same, whether they wanted to admit it or not. On top of that, Cristina and Burke's wedding was the day after the exam and she was still expected to be the maid of honour- the dresses had been done weeks ago and there wasn't anyone else to take her place. Burke had been telling her anything she needed to know. Then there was Susan, who was a lovely woman but had been convinced by Molly and Lexie to go to the clinic at Seattle Grace for her hiccups. Dr. Bailey had scheduled an out-patient treatment for them today and as far as she had heard from Lexie, Susan was resting at home.

The last thing she had been expecting during her shift in the pit the next day was a 911 trauma page that ended up being about Susan. She had been outside waiting for the ambulance and her insides froze when she heard the EMT's voice saying, "Susan Grey, 56 year old female who is experiencing extreme discomfort, high fever, decreased mental awareness and problems breathing."

Meredith looked at Dr. Bailey, nodded to show that she was fine and turned to the paramedic, grabbing the gurney. "Thanks Sam, we've got it from here."

Lexie climbed out after Susan. "Mer! I've just called Molly, she's on her way here. What's wrong? Is it sepsis? I remember reading about it last semester but it's my mom Mer, she can't have that because it would be advanced with all these advanced symptoms, right? And her abdomen is really tender, she was telling me that this morning."

She looked back and forth between Meredith and Dr. Bailey, terrified. Dr. Bailey spoke up. "Miss-"

"Grey, Lexie Grey. I'm starting my internship here in 3 weeks."

"Alright then, _Doctor_ Grey. Your mother does seem to have sepsis and I'm sure you remember that it is a common risk after any surgery and that's why your mother was due back here today for a check up. She will need immediate surgery so if you could sign the consent forms... do you hold her medical power of attorney?"

Lexie shook her head. "No, Molly does. She changed it last week in case something happened to my dad. She's on her way right now."

Meredith interrupted. "Actually Lex, she didn't get a chance to change it. She told me yesterday when I asked while filling out her chart that Thatcher still held it. He needs to be called."

Dr. Bailey nodded. "Right then people, let's move. Meredith, call the one with MPoA and get him here right away. After that, we need to talk."

Meredith murmured "Yes, Dr. Bailey" and ran towards the phone, leaving Lexie next to Susan.

While waiting for Thatcher to pick up, Meredith noticed Dr. Bailey waiting to listen to her side of the conversation while filling out a chart. She hoped fervently that Thatcher was in a good mood. "Hi, is this Mr. Thatcher Grey?"

"_Speaking."_

"This is Dr. Grey from Seattle Grace Hospital. As you are no doubt aware, your wife had a procedure performed here yesterday for a case of chronic hiccoughs. She was just transported from your home with your oldest daughter by ambulance after suffering from a post-op complication. She is unable to make her own decisions and as you are hold medical power of attorney you need to get her immediately to sign for emergency surgery. She needs this surgery now sir, time is of the essence."

"_What? Okay... I'm on my way. I'll be 10 minutes."_

Hanging up the phone, Meredith let out a breath that she hadn't known she'd been holding. She'd been fine and Thatcher hadn't even recognized her name in his panic about Susan. Turning around, she walked to stand in front of her resident.

"You wanted to speak to me?"

"Yes, I did." Miranda looked at her shrewdly. "You two are related. Don't give me that look, you have the same last name and I know that Thatcher is the name of your father, it was on your chart when I cut you open and took out your appendix. You're clearly related to the distressed girl, you two sound the same and you know each other. You can't be on this case, not as a surgeon."

"I only just found out about her and we aren't close at all. Lexie and Molly I know really well but not Susan, which should exempt me from that rule... please Dr. Bailey? Can I at least just stand there and observe?"

"Fine. The Chief wants in on this one, so be on your best behaviour Grey, understand?"

"Yes Dr. Bailey. Thanks so much!"

Miranda rolled her eyes as she went to wait for Mr. Grey. "Suck ups."

**A/N:** Let me know what you think! I'm hoping for an update soon but next week will be just as hectic as the previous few so I'll update when I can. As always, thanks to everyone who reads and/or reviews, I love to hear what you think!

Posted December 26th, 2009


	13. Die Alone

**Obligatory Disclaimer:** Grey's Anatomy and all associated characters belong to ShondaLand, not me.

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay (first post of 2010... happy new year!), this is version 16 and I think I'm finally okay with it! For anyone skeptical about reactions, as Shonda so kindly reminded us this season everyone reacts to death differently. If I get any reviews before or during the crossover I'll try to have an update done by the end of the two hours. On that note, finally after six long weeks of waiting... **HAPPY GREY'S DAY!

* * *

**

Since Thatcher had arrived and signed the forms everything had been a whirlwind. Meredith had promised Lexie that she would stay with Susan during the surgery and she had. She had scrubbed in and then sat in a chair by Susan's head. Meredith had been talking quietly to the unconscious Susan and making sure to stay out of the way during the procedure and was startled when the monitors started beeping.

"Chief we have another bleeder!"

"Try to stop it- she's going into v-fib, get me a crash cart!"

So Susan was shocked repeatedly while Meredith watched and Richard finally called time of death. "Time of death, 13:22."

Meredith got up slowly and went to scrub out. After Dr. Bailey and Dr. Webber had scrubbed out the three had made their way towards the waiting room, where despite protests she walked up to Thatcher, Lexie and Molly.

"We did- we did everything we could-" she was cut off by Thatcher's voice.

"You killed her. You killed my wife! You infect everything you touch, you are just like your mother!" and then a resounding slap sounded in the room, followed by Lexie's gasp.

Meredith clutched her face. "What-"

"You are no daughter of mine. She came here because she said you were the best and look where it got her! You are not my family. You are not my daughter."

Meredith turned and ran, trying to hide her tears and ignoring Molly calling out to her. "Meredith- Mer, wait!"

Derek tried to intercept her but she pushed him away, not wanting to deal with him right now. "No, don't!"

She couldn't take it; she should have drowned, stayed at the bottom of the lake where she couldn't hurt anyone anymore. So she ran and ran, eventually collapsing blindly in an area of the basement she had never seen before, sobs wracking her tiny frame as she mourned the loss of a family.

* * *

Addison Forbes Montgomery was livid. She had been at the nurses' station when they had come out to tell Susan's family the news. Of course she was upset that Susan was gone, she had come to know the woman very well over the last few weeks and she had been kind. Molly, Lexie and Laura didn't deserve this. Thatcher, however... she couldn't for the life of her understand how he had ended up with Susan. She had wanted to immediately run after Meredith but seeing her reaction to Derek decided to give her a minute. She looked at Miranda and Richard, standing in shock, before squaring her shoulders and marching towards Thatcher Grey.

Richard saw her advance and tried to stop her. "Addison, don't-" he stopped abruptly when he realized it was already too late.

Before she started in on Thatcher she turned to face Molly and Lexie. "I am so, so sorry."

"You." she hissed, staring at Thatcher with undisguised disgust, her face switching from sorry to contempt so fast that Molly had to blink twice to believe it.

"What?" he answered stupidly, still in shock.

"What? You dare to ask me what, after what you just said to your oldest daughter? Actually, you know what; you don't deserve to have a claim to Meredith! She is an amazing woman and she just lost a mother too. So you don't get to stand there and blame her for a complication she had nothing to do with. She didn't cut Susan open, she didn't make her come here, and she didn't give her the damn hiccoughs in the first place! Meredith is a damn fine doctor and you better believe that she wants each and every person she helps to make it out alive. So I'm telling you, not only as a colleague at this hospital or her teacher but as her friend that you don't get to treat her that way. You don't get to call her names and you have no fucking right to lay a hand on her! So you had better turn around and walk right out of this hospital before I call security for assaulting a hospital employee. Are we clear?"

She was met with shocked silence before he nodded slowly. "Ah, ah, I see. You're just another one of her conquests, aren't you? That must be it, that's the only reason anyone would care for that defect. I didn't know she was a lesbian, that's just a whole new low even for her! I should have let her mother abort her, I should have! She only brings disease, that's all, look what she's done to my family, look what she's done... You'll be next, you'll all be next!" Thatcher's voice had risen to a yell and had caused quite a scene.

"Dad, calm down!" Molly shouted, placing a hand on his arm and trying to get him to quiet. "Please, Mom wouldn't have wanted you to treat Mer or Addison like this! She thought of Meredith as her daughter, you know that."

"Don't you talk about that bitch to me! You, you're just like her! You look just like she does, I can't- I can't look at you!" he forcibly threw Molly's hand off of him, causing her to land in the chair awkwardly.

Lexie had been watching quietly, trying to process that her mother was gone. She was embarrassed by her father's words and had taken Laura when Molly had gotten up. Something in her finally snapped when she realized exactly what he had been saying and when he touched her baby sister that was it, dad or not. She stood up quickly, passing Laura to an incensed Addison.

"You shut the fuck up, you understand? You don't get to talk to Dr. Montgomery like that and you don't get to touch either of my sisters!" Lexie shouted, tears streaming down her face. "Right now, you aren't my father, you're some grieving man who can't control himself. But you better exercise some control right now before you do something even more stupid than you already have! Dad, please, Mom wouldn't have wanted you to act like this."

Thatcher put his hands on his face and stammered "Oh-okay, okay."

Lexie lead him out of the hospital slowly, trying to get him towards the car. Addison helped Molly up and handed Laura back to her.

"Are you going to be okay?"

Molly managed a watery chuckle. "I'm sorry, I don't know how I'm laughing right now. I don't know, she was my mom and now she's gone. Tell Meredith- tell her that I'm so sorry. For what he said to her. I still think she's my Merbear, okay? And Addison, I'm sorry for you too. Thanks for calming Laura down."

Sure enough, the screaming toddler had quieted once Lexie had handed her off to Addison.

Addison hugged Molly quickly. "No problem Molly. Let me know if you need anything, okay? With the arrangements or the service or just in general. I'll let Mer know what you said, I'm heading after her right now. I just- someone needed to be on her side. Good luck, Molly. See you later."

With that, Molly left with Laura and Addison walked back to Richard and Miranda. "How could you let her be the one to tell them? You know what, don't answer that and don't you dare reprimand me for standing up for her. Don't page me, I'm going after Meredith."

She left at a run, hoping that Meredith hadn't left the hospital from another route.

Miranda looked at Richard. "We really screwed up this time, didn't we?"

He nodded solemnly. "Yes. Yes, we did."

**Love? Hate? Thoughts in general? Let me know!**

Posted January 14th, 2010


	14. Keep Breathing

**Obligatory disclaimer:** I freaking wish I owned this ! The closest thing I'll claim is being Satan's little sister :) I just take the characters and play with them.

_I could apologize for taking so long to update this, but to be honest I'm not going to. I've felt that lately, especially the last few chapters as I set things up I haven't had much of a response. While I'm sure that some of this is that it takes me awhile to update because of life, it hasn't motivated me at all. As a matter of fact, I almost stopped writing because I'm a wee bit pissed. Actually, that's a lie. I'm livid. It came to my attention via an unknown source that someone has been lifting my ideas and scenarios almost directly from my story and using it in theirs. I'm going to be nice and not mention their name(s), but know this: I work my butt off to plan this and each chapter has multiple versions. Even though they're short more often than not, some of these scenarios hit close to home and are freaking hard for me to write. So I would appreciate it if you would not lift my work or if you use something, give credit where credit is due. If you ask me, I might agree. I don't like finding it out from others or on my own while browsing what I had hoped would be a great fic (and it's not just on this board. It's other places too. Should I be happy that it means my stuff is being read?) Also, since this apparently is an issue for some people- I'd just like to remind you that in Canada we may spell some things differently than you're used to. It's not that I'm stupid, it's what I was taught. Thanks.  
_

_On that note, here's your update. I know it's short, but there's more in progress. I've almost re-written my deleted files and I've done some work on Tension too. This chapter was inspired in part by the amazing work of Ziny-DiNozzo, go check her out :) (see, that's me giving credit.) This and the next few chapters are also dedicated to everyone who showed that they're still interested- beverlie4055, neweldi, ladysmirnoff, kochy-girl, Nyberg3, Arizona'sIntern, venlass, Manni Renee, iam-kelly, Ziny-DiNozzo and rolly21 (hi, Katie!). Thanks so much to all of you!_

* * *

"Meredith? Mer? Where are you?"

She shut the closet door and continued on with a sigh. Addison had checked the roof, the on call rooms, the supply closets, her car, Meredith's car and the only place she hadn't looked was the basement. She was on her way there now, running through the hospital and down the stairs as if she was answering a 911 page. She had stopped briefly in OB to tell a nurse to turn all her patients over to Dr. Chu for the next little while as she had a personal emergency. The nurse just nodded and wished her luck, already knowing that Addison was looking for Meredith.

Arriving in the basement out of breath, she was relieved to have found her, even if she was curled up in a heap on the floor. She could hear her harsh sobs from several yards away. Crossing the space between them quickly, she put her hand on Meredith's shoulder tentatively. "Mer?"

"G- go away."

Addison crouched down. "Meredith, please."

"Just go, go before you get hurt too! I'm toxic, I'm toxic..." She started sobbing even harder, until her words were unintelligible.

Manoeuvring so she was right next to her, Addison gathered Meredith into a fierce hug. Meredith fought her for a minute until she realized that Addison's grip wasn't getting any looser and returned the hug, clinging to her as if her life depended on it.

Addison rubbed circles on her back as if she was cradling a newborn. "Sweetheart, you aren't toxic. Don't listen to him; he doesn't know his ass from his esophagus."

Meredith managed a half snort. "But she trusted me, and now she's dead. My mommy trusted me and she's dead too, and Derek trusted me and I died... I let everyone down. You'll be next, I can't help it. Everything around me dies... I can't even save myself."

Addison squeezed her tightly. "Did you feel that? Do you feel your heart breathing, your lungs moving to bring in air, the tears running down your beautiful face? All those prove that you're alive, Mer. You didn't die, you're sitting right here with me. The only person you've let down is yourself because you don't give yourself enough credit. You're extraordinary, Meredith."

"No, no, no! Extraordinary people don't give up, they don't stop swimming! I drowned, I let myself drown, I wanted it all to stop! I'm sick of being the dirty mistress, the slutty intern or the daughter of Ellis Grey! I am not extraordinary. Extraordinary people make names for themselves, they do what others can't. Here." She fumbled in her pocket and pulled out her phone. Finding the dictionary application, she looked up extraordinary and thrust the phone into Addison's hands. "If anything, I'm the word history! 'Out of order', that sounds about right!"

Startled, Addison took the phone and read the screen.

**ex·traor·di·nar·y **–adjective

1. beyond what is usual, ordinary, regular, or established: extraordinary costs.

2. exceptional in character, amount, extent, degree, etc.; noteworthy; remarkable: extraordinary speed; an extraordinary man.

3. (of an official, employee, etc.) outside of or additional to the ordinary staff; having a special, often temporary task or responsibility: minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary.

Looking back up at Meredith, she shook her head. "Mer, you're crazy if you don't think you fit this definition. Now, I'm going to talk, and you're going to listen, okay?"

Meredith just looked at her blankly.

"An ordinary person wouldn't have survived living with Ellis Grey. They wouldn't have survived endless boarding schools, being forgotten, spending holidays and birthdays by themselves. They wouldn't have pushed themselves through college and medical school at the Ivy League level and they wouldn't have been allowed to have pink hair at a boarding school!"

She put her hand under Meredith's chin and forced her to look her in the eyes. "You Meredith Grey, did all those things. You even beat death not once, but twice! You held your hand on a bomb, looked death in the eye and told it to go and fuck itself. You were pushed in the bay after helping your patient and against all odds you came back. That's not even including when I swooped in and announced that I was your boyfriend's wife. You just keep on surviving Meredith, it's what you do. It's what extraordinary people do. Okay?"

Meredith sniffled and wiped a few tears off her cheek. "Okay,"

Addison got up and held out her hand. "Let's get you off of this gross floor and onto one of those beds over there."

Pulling Meredith up, she led her over to the gurneys and they both sat down. She dug around in her pocket until she found a clean Kleenex and passed it to Meredith so she could finish drying her eyes. Leaning back against the wall, she put her arm around Meredith, whose head was on her shoulder.

"It's not your fault you know. You didn't give Susan the hiccoughs or perform the procedure on her. No one knew that those kinds of complications would happen to her Mer, the chances are so small with that procedure."

"I know that Addie, but she trusted me. They were just starting to be my real family, even Thatcher to an extent. Molly and Lexie must hate me now, I killed their mother…" She started to sob again, distraught at the thought of her sisters' anger.

"Mer, honey, stop crying. Stop, okay? I have a message for you from Molly and Laura, but you need to breathe before I can tell you, alright?"

She nodded slowly and Addison rubbed her back again until her sniffles stopped. "Okay, I'm ready. Does she hate me?"

Addison got tears in her eyes at the anguished look on Meredith's face and the pain in her voice. "Mer, Molly doesn't hate you. She wanted me to tell you that she's so sorry for what he said to you and that you're still her Merbear. She still loves you Mer, and Lexie does too. They both stood up for you to him and you know that Laura thinks the world of her Auntie Mer."

"Re-really?" Meredith turned and looked at Addison, her eyes bright with tears. "She said that? Oh!" And with that she was crying again, her head buried in Addison's chest. Addison could do nothing but run her hand on Meredith's back, hoping to calm her down again. It was startling for her to see Meredith this vulnerable and exposed.

After about half an hour of Meredith crying off and on, Addison heard her breathing even out, signalling that she had fallen asleep sitting on Addison's lap.


	15. You and I

**Obligatory disclaimer:** I freaking wish I owned this ! The closest thing I'll claim is being Satan's little sister :) I just take the characters and play with them.

_No, your eyes do not deceive you, I have updated two days in a row! This one's a short one but it's important because she's thinking everything over and to be honest, it was exhausting to write. Clai (Ziny-DiNozzo) and I have an agreement about her posting a sequel to a one-shot so this means you not only get lots of updates from me but a new one from her! So you should thank us, we're awesome :) (for the record, Clai- 11:59pm, I barely made it!)_

_Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed- Kelly, Clai, ladysmirnoff, campkgurl, luvlexi714, kirei28 and kikky, as well as to those who added me to their favourites or subscribed! A huge thanks also goes out to all of you for your support through the copying crap._

* * *

An hour or two later Meredith awoke feeling refreshed and realizing that she had just had the best sleep in a while in Addison's arms. Not wanting to move and wake her as she looked exhausted too, she just sat and thought about everything that had happened lately. She had drowned, her mom had died, she had split with Derek and she had developed a great friendship with Addison. Addison had become her protector and her confidant, in some ways understanding her more than Cristina ever could. She made sure that she took care of herself and was one of the best things that had happened to her. She had been drinking less and that was definitely Addison's influence.

Molly and sweet little Laura had come to play a huge role in her life, welcoming her into the family with open arms. She had just gotten to know Lexie and had been getting along quite well with Susan. Drs. Bailey and Weber had grown increasingly protective of her and even Derek had started to give her space. So much had happened in so little time and she hadn't had a chance to think about it. Here in Addison's arms, where she was comfortable, she slowly started to go over the last few weeks.

Derek. Oh, that man! McDreamy one second, McAss the next! Meredith shook her head. He had swooped in and broken down her defenses after that night at the bar and then crushed her heart into tiny pieces when Addison had shown up and she had found out he was married. Yet still she pined for him, craved him, leading to her becoming a real dirty mistress at prom. Then he had divorced Addison and she had chosen him over Finn and his plans because it was Derek that she truly loved. Down the road she could see them with kids and a house on his land, even if she would never admit it to him. She had fallen into the Bay, drowned, came back to life and then that was it. He was done, he couldn't go through losing her again, he couldn't help her breathe and get over her near-death whatever. Instead he had to leave her alone, to abandon her and blame everything that had ever gone wrong in their relationship on her! Yet still after all that, after him calling her a whore after the second time and causing her harm, her heart still beat a little faster when he was around. She knew it was wrong, knew it was a habit but it still did and she had no doubt that if it weren't for Addison's presence, Derek would have come after her and they would be together again.

Now Susan was gone and there was no longer anyone she could count on for mothering, except for Molly. Molly was a spitfire just like her mother and Meredith had no doubt that she would be over at the house as soon as she possibly could be, making sure that Meredith was out of bed and not moping around. Her heart twisted a little at the realization that Susan was gone. There would be no more walking into the kitchen in the morning to see her restocking her cupboards, no more talks about how big Laura was getting. Sure, she had really disliked Susan at first but the woman had grown on her and she had been an awesome fake mommy!

She let out a sigh as she thought about Thatcher. That man would never redeem himself in her eyes after what he had done. She understood completely that he was irrational with grief from his wife's death but to strike his own daughter... even she, Meredith dark-and-twisty-I-probably-deserved-it Grey, got that that was wrong! Of course now she was worried about how he would treat Lexie and Molly in his grief.

She had a nagging feeling that he had exchanged words with Addison, as she had had a lot of things to say about him considering that she had talked to him twice previously and for no more than 10 minutes each time. Meredith couldn't help but wonder exactly what had been said between the two; Addie looked stressed even now in her sleep. As much as she wanted to know what had happened she didn't want to find it out from the nurses so she resolved to just ask Addison when they got home. Speaking of home...

"Addie, wake up. It's getting late, we should go," she shook Addison's shoulder gently.

Addison opened her eyes groggily. "Hm... what?"

"It's late, we should go home and get some food. There's leftover chicken from when Sus-" Meredith choked up and couldn't finish Susan's name. Addison hugged her again tightly and then they got off of the gurney to head upstairs, Meredith tucked securely under Addison's arm.

As they made their way to and from the locker rooms, no one said a word to them about what had happened, sensing that the duo needed time to themselves. Besides, after Addison's outburst they had been reminded of why she was called Satan.

The ride back home was filled with comfortable silence until they walked through the front door and saw the message light on the machine flashing. Not wanting to deal with anyone until the morning, Meredith unplugged the machine and the phone before wandering into the kitchen to lean on the counter next to Addison.

"Who was it?"

Meredith shrugged. "I don't know, I didn't listen."

"Mer..."

"Drop it Addie, I'll listen to them in the morning, okay?"

Addison sighed. "Fine, but first thing, okay?"

"Yes, mother."

Dinner was eaten in yet another silence before they went their separate ways to bed, the threat of dealing with the day's aftermath tomorrow looming over them.


	16. Porcelain Fists

**Obligatory disclaimer:** I freaking wish I owned this ! The closest thing I'll claim is being Satan's little sister :) I just take the characters and play with them.

_What's this? Three in a row? This one's longer than the last few and contains some pretty interesting moments, unexpected visitors and bonding time!  
_

_Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed- Kelly, Clai, Katie, ladysmirnoff and luvlexi714, as well as to those who added me to their favourites or subscribed!

* * *

_

The next morning Meredith lay in her bed sullenly, not wanting to get up. She had hoped that yesterday had been a nightmare and that the sounds she was hearing in her kitchen were made by Susan stocking her cupboards, but her hopes were dashed when she stumbled downstairs and saw that it was Izzie, making breakfast and baking up a storm.

"Izz! What are you doing here?"

"Good morning, Meredith!" Izzie said cheerfully while putting muffin batter into pans. "I heard about what happened yesterday and thought I'd come over and bake and make you food to cheer you up, like you did for me with Denny. I mean you didn't bake, you lied on the bathroom floor with me but since you're up I don't have to do that... please don't be mad!"

Meredith sighed before hoisting herself up onto an unoccupied space of the counter. "Izz, I'm not mad. I just... I was hoping you were Susan. I know she's gone, but I really wanted it to be a nightmare."

Izzie paused in her baking, pleasantly surprised that Meredith was talking about her feelings instead of bottling everything up inside like she used to. "You know Mer, when Denny died I felt him everywhere, especially when we were in the hospital. That's why I didn't want to go back. But Mer, you didn't kill Susan like I killed Denny. If I hadn't cut his LVAD... but this isn't about me. My point, Mer, is that for a while the pain is going to hurt, really hurt, but eventually it will get better. You guys did everything you could to save Susan and it wasn't your fault, you never even touched her.

"You saying that you're the one who killed Susan is the same as Lexie saying that she killed Susan. Lexie knew the risks of the procedure were far outweighed by the benefits and she also knew the signs of infection, just as you did. Lexie didn't perform the procedures on Susan and neither did you. Do you see where I'm going with this?" Izzie asked as she placed the last tray in the oven and turned to face Meredith.

She was answered with another sigh.

"Mer, all of us are just worried about you. I don't mean to be a bother, but-"

Izzie was cut off by the front door slamming open. "Meredith Grey, get your ass out of bed!"

"I am up, I'm in the kitchen!"

Cristina trudged into the kitchen where she found Meredith sitting on the counter and Izzie standing by the sink.

"Good morning Cristina! Do you want a muffin?" Izzie tossed a muffin at Cristina, who caught it and took a bite.

"Mmm, that's good Barbie, thanks."

"You're more than welcome, Scalpel Whore."

"I'm sorry Barbie, was that supposed to offend me?"

Meredith couldn't help but laugh at their antics. "Hi, Cris."

"I heard about fake mommy. I'm sorry. I'll miss her feeding me when I come over here."

To anyone else Cristina's sympathies would be considered rude and offensive, but Meredith and Izzie knew that that was just how Cristina was.

"Thanks, I will too."

"Barbie, can you leave for a second? I need to talk to Mer."

"I'll be in the living room," and with that she skipped out of the kitchen, leaving the twisted sisters by themselves.

Cristina cleared her throat uncomfortably. "So, uh, Mer..."

"Did Burke send you over or did Izzie call?" Meredith asked, getting straight to the point. Cristina wasn't normally one for emotions and she had a feeling there would be emotions involved in about 10 seconds.

"Burke did, actually."

"You don't have to tell me it'll all be okay Cris. I know that it won't be."

"It's not that, it's..." Cristina took a deep breath. "I told you that my dad died when I was 9, right?"

Meredith nodded, remembering what Denny had told her when she had died. "Yeah, you two were in a car accident and he bled out in front of you. You felt his heart stop because you were trying to stop the bleeding; that's why you want to be a cardio god."

Cristina looked visibly shaken that Meredith already knew so much. "How?"

"Denny told me when I was dead." Meredith replied quietly.

"Oh. Well, I had a speech. I was going to tell you that it wasn't your fault and that you couldn't have done anything, just like I couldn't do anything when the accident happened. It was long, elaborate and motivational but basically: don't mope, remember her as she was and check your damn answering machine."

Meredith stared at her, shocked. "How did you know that I have to check my answering machine?!"

"Well for starters Mer, it's in your entrance hallway and it's flashing like mad. Secondly, have you met Molly?"

"That's true," she said giggling. "Molly is enthusiastic and motherly."

"Especially about you. So, go over there, and-"

They were cut off once again by a knock at the door. Meredith sighed and called "I'll get it!" before Izzie or Cristina could.

Opening the door, she was shocked to see Derek.

"What the hell do you want?

"I want to fix things between us Mer, please," he said pleadingly, giving her the McDreamy look that he knew was her weakness.

'_So... McDreamy...'_ Meredith couldn't help but think. "What... no. No, no, no, no. No!"

"Why not? Mer, we were happy."

"I can't believe the nerve of you! My step-mother just _died_, and you're here asking me out! Are you fucking kidding me? I told you no! I told you I never wanted to see you again, and yet here you are, on my doorstep!"

"I told you I would always come back."

"You don't have anyone to come back to, _Doctor_ Shepherd. Get out of my house, off of my porch and off my property!" _'Nope, definitely McAss.'_

The commotion at the front door had brought Addison down from upstairs and Izzie and Cristina in as well. All stared in disbelief at the sight of Derek in the doorway.

"McAss, why are you darkening the doorstep?"

"Yang, that's uncalled for."

"Uncalled for? Uncalled for? I'll show you uncalled for!" Cristina made a move towards Derek but was held back by Meredith and Addison. Izzie had disappeared into the kitchen to grab what she had said was an 'essential item especially for Dr. Shepherd.'

"Derek, back off. Now."

"Why should I, Addison? I love Meredith," he said smugly, trying to get a rise out of her.

"No, you don't," she replied calmly. "You love the idea of her. Maybe you did once, but now you don't. If you did, you wouldn't be here when she told you to stay away from her, especially right after her step-mother just died."

"Yet you're here!"

"That's because I live here, Derek, I'm her roommate." _'And how I wish I was something more...'_

Derek scoffed. "Right, I'm so sure. Why don't all of you run along so that Meredith and I can organize when we're going to get together."

"We are not getting together anytime soon, I thought I made that clear!" Meredith spluttered angrily.

"Apparently not clear enough," sneered Cristina. "How did someone as brainless as you end up as a neurosurgeon?"

Derek opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by the return of Izzie, who had ditched the apron and now held a frying pan.

"Right, look. Dr. Shepherd, I was raised in a trailer park and I will kick your ass if you don't leave right now. As an added incentive if you don't believe me..." she brandished the frying pan threateningly. "I will use this."

"No, you wouldn't."

"Do you want to bet?"

The serious look on Izzie's face and the murderous looks coming from the other women let him know that she wasn't kidding and had him walking out the door quickly.

As a parting shot, Cristina threw in, "If you come near my person one more time I'm coming near you with a rusty scalpel!"

All the women laughed at the horrified look on his face as he got into his car and peeled out of the driveway.

"Thanks guys, I needed that," Meredith gasped, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Anytime Mer, anytime. I'll be right back, my muffins are almost done!"

"You're welcome Mer. Now, the answering machine. Answer it, and call me later if you need me, my shift starts in an hour."

"Have fun at work!"

After Cristina had left Addison sat next to Meredith on the couch and they both looked at the answering machine.

"It's not going to answer itself, Mer," Addison said gently.

"I know, but I don't want to. Do I have to?"

"I'm sorry sweetie, but you do. Do you want me to sit here with you while you do it?"

Meredith shook her head. "No... no, I think I should do it by myself."

"Okay." Addison stood and squeezed Meredith's shoulder in support. "I'll be in the kitchen with Izzie if you need me."

After she was alone in the room, Meredith sat there and stared at the answering machine, willing it to answer itself.

'_Do I have to? I do, don't I. Fuck.'_

Sighing for the umpteenth time that morning, she rose from the couch and reluctantly pressed play on the machine.


	17. Once Was Love

**Obligatory Disclaimer:** Grey's Anatomy and all associated characters belong to ShondaLand, not me.

_A/N: Sorry about the wait. I'm not planning on going to school tomorrow (or technically today, I guess) so I'll try and get some writing in. I don't know how I feel about this chapter, so your thoughts on it would be greatly appreciated.

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_

Susan's voice filled the air instantly, causing Meredith to gasp.

"Good morning Meredith! Lexie is hanging out with me today to make sure I feel okay, but I just wanted to call to confirm the dinner plans we had for tomorrow night. I don't want to schedule it and then find out you have a shift! Call me back when you get this and I hope that you have a great day."

Meredith's breath had shortened during the message and she was fighting back sobs. Holding her breath, she waited for the next message.

"Good morning, this is Dr. Angela Thomas from Mercy West calling for Dr. Montgomery, Dr. Montgomery we have a..."

She let out a sigh of relief when she realized it wasn't for her and wrote down the message to give to Addison. When that message finished, she waited with bated breath for the next one.

"It's your fault, it's your fault! You killed her, you killed my wife-" Thatcher's voice flooded her living room along with sounds of a struggle until Lexie's voice came through.

"Sorry about that Mer, he grabbed my phone from me after I dialled. Molly and I don't blame you at all, I'm actually calling to see if you're okay, you left pretty fast and we didn't get a chance to talk to you. I'm not sure if you're at home yet because you were still at the hospital when we left and you might not have been done your shift. Anyways call me when you get this so that we know you're doing okay, Mom loved you like a daughter too. Bye."

Grabbing the Kleenex and blowing her nose, she waited for the next one. This time, she heard Molly.

"Meredith Grey, it's 10pm and we called you two hours ago... I'm sorry if this is overbearing or whatever but I'm your little sister and I'm entitled to annoy you! Pick up your damn phone and call me back, okay? Love you."

She almost had to laugh at the next one.

"Merbear I swear to god... I've called, Lexie's called and you haven't answered us yet! I just got back from the hospital, I went to see if you were still there and they said that you left hours ago... Mer, it's midnight and I know you drink when you're upset so I'm having these visions of you dead in a ditch somewhere. Please call me back Merbear, please?"

The following one brought her to tears.

"So Meredith Elizabeth, it's 3am and after us calling you three times you still have not answered. We called Addison, Laura and I, because we were worried sick. Check your answering machine big sis, and call me the second you get this! If I haven't heard from you by noon then I'm coming over and you won't like it. Love you Merbear!"

The size of Molly's heart had always astonished her, now more than ever. She was willing to ignore her father to support her newfound sister in the aftermath of her mother's sudden death, against his specific wishes. She couldn't even fathom being in Molly's shoes and able to do that, and it made her glad that she had accepted her little sisters.

She debated finding Addison before returning Molly's call, but figured that she should just take the plunge before she backed out. Picking up the phone, she slowly dialled Molly's number and pressed call.

Taking a deep breath, she waited for someone to pick up. One ring, then two and three passed and just as she was preparing to leave a message a tired voice filled the line. "Hello?"

"Molly?"

"Meredith!" Molly's voice brightened considerably when she figured out who it was. "Thank god you called back, I was going crazy worrying about you."

"I'm fine Mols. How are Lexie and Laura?"

"Mer, you are not fine. Lexie is about as fine as you are except she's eating. Everything Mer, she's eating everything with absolutely no discrimination. It's... revolting. I wasn't even that bad when I was pregnant with Laura. Laura doesn't understand what's going on, she gets upset when there are people crying though."

"Do you want me to come over and help?" Meredith asked tentatively, still unsure of where she stood.

Meredith heard Molly's sigh. "You know what would be great? If you could take Laura for me so that I can concentrate on the arrangements with Lex."

"I don't know if I can do that Molly. What if I corrupt her?"

Laughter filled the line. "Mer, you'll be fine! Besides, Addison lives with you and you're a doctor, I have complete faith in you. Besides, Laura needs a calm environment and you know she loves you."

"I... alright, I guess. When do you want me to come over?"

"Could you be here in about an hour? I have to pack her a bag and get her stuff together."

"Okay, I just have to shower. Are you at your house or your parents?"

"Everyone's at my place. Thanks so much Mer!"

Meredith smiled weakly, even though she knew Molly couldn't see her. "No problem Mols, see you in a bit."

Sighing, she hung up the phone and trudged upstairs to shower and clean herself up. After going into her bathroom and locking the door, she took her hair out of its bun and stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot from crying, her hair was a disaster and her face was starting to bruise where Thatcher had struck her. Getting into the shower, she spent a longer time than usual standing under the hot water, trying to get it to wash away her feelings of dirtiness and inadequacy.

After she dried herself off she grabbed a towel, wrapped it around herself and brushed her hair, getting out all the tangles and wincing as the brush got caught. After she had pulled on a pair of sweats and a Dartmouth sweater, she made her way downstairs to find her phone and purse and to let Addison know where she was going. She was surprised that Izzie was still there and baking and had to move many piles of baked goods around to locate her keys.

"Addie, Izz, I'm going across town to pick Laura up from Molly's for a bit. Do we need anything from the store?"

Izzie shook her head and gestured to the ingredients everywhere. "When I grabbed all this I restocked your fridge, you should be good for a while. I'm going to put a basket or two of goods together for you to bring for Molly, that way they'll have something to snack on easily. I'll be right back."

After Izzie had left the room, Addison turned to Meredith and smiled warmly. "I'm so proud of you Mer. Not many people would be able to go and talk with idiots that blame them."

Meredith blushed. "I'm doing it for Laura."

Meredith sat down on a stool next to Addison and Addison placed her hand on the side of her face, lightly tracing the mark Thatcher left.

"The size of your heart never ceases to amaze me."

She leaned forward and Meredith held her breath, exhaling in what she thought was relief and- was that a hint of disappointment? when the kiss landed on her cheek.

Just then Izzie came back with two baskets that she filled up and presented to Mer. "Those should keep them stocked for awhile, tell Molly to call me if she needs anything else, you can give her my cell number. If I'm not here when you come back, have a great day with Laura!"

Thanking Izzie, she hugged Addison, grabbed the baskets and rushed out the door to pick up her little sunshine.


	18. A Bird's Song

**Obligatory Disclaimer:** Grey's Anatomy and all associated characters belong to ShondaLand, not me.

_A/N: Not too sure where this came from, it wasn't supposed to go like this at all. This chapter is dedicated to Katie, since in my timezone, it's still her birthday. I hope it was a great one!  


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The drive to Molly's house seemed to take a lot longer than ever before as she prepared to face people she had never met and likely blamed her. It was with trepidation that she parked on the street and walked up to the house, knocking on the door. She breathed a sigh of relief when it was Lexie that opened the door and not some unfamiliar relative.

"Mer! I'm so glad you're here. Are you okay? You look tired, are you hungry? We have food, lots of food, Molly bought some from the store and oh it's delicious you should try some!" Lexie babbled excitedly and then threw herself at Meredith for a hug, startling her.

Cautiously, she hugged Lexie back. "Um, hi, Lexie... I'm fine, a little tired, I'm not hungry though. It's a good thing I put those baskets down before I opened the door."

"Baskets? You brought more food?!" Lexie asked excitedly. Then her face went pale when she realized that Meredith had brought it. "Mer, I don't mean to be rude, but..."

Meredith smiled as she realized what Lexie was asking. "It's safe, Izzie made it."

Lexie's face brightened and she dragged Mer into the house, grabbing one basket and barely giving Meredith enough time to get the other one. "Molly? Mooools? Where did you go?"

Several dirty looks and a stop in the kitchen to deposit the food later, they found Molly in the living room surrounded by well-meaning vultures. Molly tore herself away with an "excuse me, I'll be right back" and followed Lexie's lead in attacking Meredith.

"Merbear!" came Molly's voice from somewhere in her shoulder. "I'm so glad to see you."

Then Molly started crying and Meredith followed suite, and they stood in the middle of the living room sobbing until Molly pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to break down on you like that," she sniffled. "Lex, could you get the Kleenex please?"

Lexie returned with the Kleenex quickly and they all wiped their eyes.

"It's okay Molly, I don't mind. Where's my niece?"

"That's actually a good question... Lex, do you know who has her?"

At Meredith's startled look, she explained why she didn't know where her daughter was. "Everyone wanted to see her, so I gave her to Aunt Patricia- you might remember her- and she's over there but there's no Laura... oh, here she comes. Lexie, quick, go find Laura for me!" Molly commanded as she saw Patricia approaching. "She doesn't like Lexie at all, now I know why."

Meredith winced. "I'll have to apologize to her."

Molly just shrugged. "Whatever, it's not your fault. Lexie will probably thank you, she hates Aunt Pat."

"Miss Molly, who is this girl you have here? Looks an awful lot like you, she does."

Molly smiled grimly. "Come on Aunt Pat, you don't remember who this is?"

Patricia shook her head, confused. "I'm sorry, should I? What's your name, dear?"

Meredith shifted uncomfortably before clearing her throat. "My name's Meredith. Meredith Grey. It's nice to see you, Aunt Pat."

Patricia looked at her oldest niece, thunderstruck. "Little Meredith? It's you! I haven't seen you since you were 10, I've been looking for you for years but your father never mentioned you and wouldn't tell me how or where you were, or how to find you. Why are you in Seattle? How long have you been here? How do you know Molly and Lexie and Susan?"

"Last time I checked, I was still Meredith Grey, so I guess it is me."

Molly snickered at Meredith's brazenness.

"I'm in Seattle this year because I came back to put my mother in a home and I got an internship at Seattle Grace in surgery. I met Molly because I was one of the doctors on hers and Laura's case before we knew we were sisters. Then a lot of stuff happened and we became pretty close."

"Took after your mother, did you? I can't say I didn't see this coming, you loved that Anatomy Jane doll, carried it with you everywhere. "

Molly laughed. "She still has it actually, I found it when I was helping her remodel."

Meredith blushed as both women laughed at her. "As if you didn't keep things from when you were little! Besides, it's a very educational doll and people collect them now."

"Does Thatch know you're here?"

Molly and Meredith's faces darkened. "No, he doesn't, and it's going to stay that way if I can help it."

Patricia looked at Molly curiously. "Wouldn't he be happy to see his oldest daughter?"

"No," Molly responded tightly, "he's not to know Mer is here. Lexie and I asked Mer to go in the OR with Mom, to be with her, she didn't operate or anything, and then Mer was the one to tell us the news, she thought we'd take it better coming from her. See the bruise on her face? Dad gave her that, he slapped her and called her horrible names. He blames her. So no, he doesn't know he's here, he won't be happy to see her and he is not to know she was here. We have enough to deal with as it is."

"I see. Why are you here then? Isn't that cutting it close?"

"Molly asked me to take Laura for a bit so that she could deal with everything and not have to worry about Laura. I can't be around helping with the arrangements, but I can help and watch Laura. I'm off until my exam on Thursday; I've basically been forced to take leave again on top off the day I was already supposed to get."

Molly gasped. "Your exam is in five days? Mer, I can't ask you to take Laura now, you should be studying. These exams are huge!"

"Mols, I'll be fine. Addison's been helping me study for months and if anything Laura can help me study any paediatric questions that come up. Speaking of Laura, where is Lexie? I thought she was going to get her?"

Molly rolled her eyes. "You know how Lex is... can't say no, has to talk to everyone. She probably got stuck with great-grandma or someone else."

As the girls laughed about Lexie being stuck in some uncomfortable predicament, Patricia excused herself and went to socialize with someone else.

"Well, that was sufficiently awkward."

"What, you didn't enjoy her questions?" Molly asked teasingly. "Oh look, there's my baby! Hi! Come see Mama, Laura!"

Relieved to find Molly and Meredith, Lexie willingly passed the giggling baby over. "Everyone wanted to talk and comment and hold her... I thought I was never going to escape!"

The two women dissolved into giggles, leaving Lexie looking at them confused. "What? Actually, you know what... don't tell me. I don't want to know."

Laura saw Meredith and reached for her, babbling happily. Meredith took her gladly, cooing at her. "Hi there Laura, how are you? How's my favourite niece?"

If you had asked her last year or even two months ago if she would ever be in a situation where she cooed over a baby, she would have laughed in your face, but here she was, happily holding her niece.

Molly smiled at her oldest sister, glad that she and Laura had been able to help bring about this amazing change in Meredith. Clearing her throat and surreptitiously wiping a tear off of her cheek, she handed over the diaper bag full of everything they'd need.

"Okay so her diapers, bottles, soothers and some clothes are in there, her blanket is... with Lexie, give me that please! You have some of her toys at the house; the travel playpen is in the car along with her car seat so let's go get that. Lex, you need to run a distraction in case Dad gets up."

Meredith hugged Lexie. "Good luck Lexie, I'll talk to you later."

This time it was Lexie who was surprised by the hug. "Thanks Mer. Bye Laura! You're the one who's going to need the luck, this one's a handful!"

Molly interrupted. "But she's going to be good for her Auntie Mer, yes she is, right my little peach? Yes you are!"

Turning back to Meredith, she led her out the front door and to her car that was parked in the driveway. "Are you parked down the street?"

Meredith nodded. "Yeah, I'm just over there."

"I'll give you the car seat and the playpen now so you can install the seat and load your truck- that's not your car!"

In place of Meredith's beet up Jeep was a nice, shiny new Acura TSX.

"Oh, but it is... the jeep broke down two days ago, I meant to tell you, it was a funny story... so I got this one in case I ever had Laura, it's safer for her. Plus, it's a lot nicer and it doesn't have nearly as many problems as my Jeep did."

Molly hugged her again and then handed her the car seat and its base. "She's still facing backwards, she's not quite heavy enough to face front yet."

"Not heavy enough... are you sure, Molly? She sure feels heavy!"

"I know, I know, that's what I said! Make sure the base it tight against the seat- don't worry, I'll check it before you go."

Five minutes later, much to Molly's amusement, Meredith had successfully installed the base. "Can you check it? Is it fine?"

Molly tried to move it but it wouldn't budge. "It's good; she'll be fine in it."

They strapped Laura into the seat and Molly said goodbye to her before they clicked the seat into the base.

"Well, that's it. I'll call you later to figure out when she'll be picked up and to fill you in. You know my number, call if there are any problems. You'll be fine Mer, I trust you."

"Thanks Mols, it means a lot."

Molly grinned and hugged her again. "No problem, big sis. Now go have fun with my girl!"

"Say bye to Mama Laura! Bye Molly."

Molly walked over to the sidewalk and waved as they drove off to Meredith's place.


	19. Masochist

**Obligatory Disclaimer:** Grey's Anatomy and all associated characters belong to ShondaLand, not me.

_A/N: Sorry for the wait. This one is for Clai (Ziny-DiNozzo) for checking to see if I was still alive and for Katie (rolly_21) for pushing me to update. Thanks, ladies. If you guys could review and let me know what you think, I might update more quickly... just saying._

Laura babbled incessantly in the back seat as Meredith drove back across Seattle to her house. There was something about her chatter that brightened her day, making her able to almost completely ignore the reason why she had Laura right now.

Susan was gone. Really gone, as in not coming back and her sisters were making funeral arrangements gone. Arrangements for a funeral that she might not be able to attend; in his grief Thatcher was a right bastard. It had been nice to speak with Molly and Lexie face to face and see that they really didn't hate her for not being able to save their mother. Most fake-sisters wouldn't do that, although technically they weren't fake sisters since she spent so much time with them, especially Molly, and Molly would probably slap her if she found out she was thinking of them as fake sisters...

The light changing to green turned her concentration back onto the road and she spent the remainder of the drive concentrating on Laura's babbling and the vehicles around her. Getting in a car accident, especially one with her niece was the last thing she needed right now.

Pulling into her driveway, she was relieved to see that Izzie had gone home or into the hospital as she didn't feel like dealing with anyone other than Addison right now. Getting Laura out of the car, she grabbed the diaper bag and struggled up the steps and through the door.

"For a cute little girl you sure are heavy, aren't you Laura?"

Flipping the hall light off and re-locking the door, she winced as one of Laura's wayward hands slapped her in the face. "Ouch, Laura. That hurt!"

Addison wandered into the hall with a bowl of cereal in her hands in time to see Laura's slap.

"Laura, don't hit your Auntie Mer! She hasn't done anything to you yet, why don't we wait until the end of the day and see about it then?"

Meredith rolled her eyes and passed Addison the bags. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, you're being really helpful today."

Addison smiled winningly as she brought everything into the living room. "You know you love me."

"Unfortunately," Meredith sighed in mock frustration. Putting Laura down with some toys, she sat across from her and helped her with some blocks.

Addison crouched down next to her, surprising Meredith. Getting comfortable and ducking a flying block, she looked at Meredith seriously.

"How is everyone over there holding up?"

Meredith shrugged. "They're all a mess. Thatcher is still drunk, Lexie is eating, and Molly is holding everything together... when she snaps it isn't going to be pretty. All the family is over right now, I even ran into my Aunt Pat." She shuddered at the memory.

Addison raised an eyebrow. "Not your favourite person, I take it?"

"Absolutely not. She was one of those aunts that always pinches your cheek and tells you how thin you are. I ran into her once when I was 10, she had come to Boston to visit an old friend and ended up at Mass Gen with a broken leg. She happened to see me coming in to wait for my mother just before Christmas. I hadn't seen her until now."

"She sounds like my mother."

Meredith patted Addison's arm sympathetically. "I am so sorry."

They sat in silence until Laura got bored and Meredith decided that taking her to the park would be safer than letting her crawl around the house since it wasn't childproofed. After extending an invitation to Addison, who accepted, Meredith gathered up everything they would need, ensured that they had snacks and drinks for Laura and set out to walk to the park.

Laura enjoyed being pushed on the swings immensely and while they played with her, Addison quizzed Meredith to prepare her for her upcoming exam. Several hours passed before Molly came by to pick up Laura and Addison was proud of how well Meredith had fared.

Cuddling Laura close to her, Molly turned to her sister. "Thanks so much for taking care of her today Mer, you too Addison. How was she?"

"No problem Mols. She was great; she behaved at the park, went down for a nap around 3 and slept for about an hour. She had no problem eating the food you packed for her and she just finished a bottle. She really is an angel Molly."

"If only she could be like that for me! I'm glad she slept though, she hasn't been sleeping well the last week or so and that's made her really cranky in the evening."

Grinning, Molly turned to Addison. "Now, this is what I really want to know... how did Mer do today?"

"Molly!" Meredith gasped and slapped her lightly on the arm. "I'm offended, little sister. Have you no faith?"

"Chill Mer, I'm just kidding. If I didn't have faith in you, I wouldn't have given my baby to you for the day, trust me. Really though Addison, how did she do?"

Addison smiled at Meredith. "She was great with her Molly, really great. She'll be a wonderful mom someday."

Meredith blushed and Molly beamed.

"Really? I'm like a proud Mama, Mer!"

"Thanks. How did things go today?"

The smile fell from Molly's face and she grimaced. "Well, Dad is sober, the family has finally evacuated my house and arrangements were made for Wednesday. They offered me a spot Thursday but you said that was when your exam is and I want you to be there. Plus your friend invited me to her wedding, so I want to be able to go and not feel guilty about being happy the day of my mother's funeral."

"You... you want me there? Really?" Meredith's eyes filled with tears.

"Of course I do, Merbear." Molly enveloped her into a one-armed hug, trying not to squish Laura who was getting fussy.

After a minute or so Molly pulled away and adjusted Laura on her hip, pretending not to notice Meredith wiping her cheeks.

"Well, I'd best be off to put Miss Laura to bed and clean up my house. I'll call you tomorrow Mer. Thanks again guys!"

"No problem Mols!"

Addison had been silent during the sisters' conversation but waved to Molly. "Drive safe, Molly. Bye, Laura!"

Meredith shut the door after Molly pulled out of the driveway, grabbed a plate of Izzie's chocolate chip cookies from the kitchen counter and collapsed on the couch.

"I am so exhausted. Who knew a kid was so much work?"

"You're lucky Laura is so well-behaved, some of Derek's nieces and nephews are nightmares."

"Are they really? There are what, 14 of them? Why do women want to have so many children? I mean, there's labour, which lasts forever for some women and hurts like a bitch because you're pushing a child out of your vagina, and then there's the sleepless nights and the anxiety..."

Addison cut her off with a hug, which a startled Meredith returned.

"What was that for?"

"You're cute when you ramble, Mer."

Meredith inexplicably felt her face heat up again.

"Thanks, I think."

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, with Meredith moving to use Addison as a pillow after she polished off the cookies. Addison's hand running through her hair had her becoming drowsy and she began to fall asleep, content to remain where she was.


	20. Oh What a Day

Obligatory disclaimer: sadly, Grey's Anatomy is property of Shonda Rhimes and ABC, not me.

_A/N: Something small to tide you over. Not sure where this one came from but I have a feeling it's going to be important. Thanks to anyone still reading. Enjoy!_

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She didn't know why she was here. It was probably one of the most stupid things she had done in a while, and she had decided that it was best done alone, by herself.

Where was she? Well, Meredith Grey had gone and decided that Derek Shepherd needed his things back because she was sick of sitting in her house studying for her intern exam and waiting for Addison to come home from saving lives. She was fine, dammit!

So biting her lip nervously, she finally turned onto the dirt road that led up to the trailer. The plan was to get out, put the both boxes on the porch and get out as fast as possible. She had checked- Derek was supposed to be working today.

Of course when you're Meredith Grey, "supposed to" doesn't always work out.

He was home.

He had heard her vehicle approaching and had walked out onto his porch, effectively ruining all her carefully laid out plans.

Shaking, she got out of the car and made to grab the boxes as if she hadn't seen him. Unfortunately for her, he set his can of beer down and walked towards her.

"What do you want, Meredith?"

Meredith gestured to the boxes she was about to take out of her trunk. "I came to return your stuff. I'm sick of having it in my basement and I thought you'd like it back."

He just looked at her, his blue eyes boring into her gray ones.

She sighed, frustrated. "Were you just expecting me to leave these things in my house forever? First of all, I'm renovating and second of all, I told you we were done."

Derek frowned, his eyes becoming cloudy. "I had hoped we could resolve this and get back together. You know I love you, Meredith."

She shook her head. "Derek, no, I don't. If you loved me you wouldn't have called me a whore once, let alone twice. We were broken up and nothing was going on anyway. You were too overbearing. 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me thrice...'" She drifted off, looking down at her feet.

He shook his head sadly. "Is this because Addison is living with you?"

"What? No, Derek, Addison and I are just friends. After what you've done to me... I just can't forgive you for it. I'm sorry, Derek."

"For what it's worth... I'm sorry too, Meredith. I hope we can be friends again someday."

She smiled at him. "Me too, Derek. In the meantime, let's just go back to you being my boss, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay. Does this mean you'll be switching back onto my service?"

"I don't think that will happen for a while. I like my current rotation and you need to prove that you can act mature around me before I even consider it."

"He's not as good a teacher as I am."

"Really? He was doing a damn good job before you swept in. Your fellows are pretty amazing and they weren't taught by you. Just leave it alone, okay?"

He huffed. "Fine. But if I get any cases that I think you might want in on, I'm requesting you."

"And I'll keep my right to deny it."

Her phone rang, effectively piercing the tension-filled silence. "I have to take this." She made sure there was quite the distance between them before answering.

"Hello?"

"_Where the hell are you?"_

"I went out for a bit. I didn't know you were dropping by on your lunch."

"_I thought you were going to be at home! My shift got cut short- explosive case, the Chief sent me home. How long will it take you to get back?"_

"Sorry about your case. If the traffic is good and I make the next ferry I should be back in about an hour."

"_The ferry? Christ Meredith, I thought we discussed this!"_

Meredith dropped her voice to ensure that Derek couldn't hear her. "I was going stir crazy Addison and I wanted his stuff gone. I'm fine."

"_When you get back I'm helping you study and then taking you to Joe's. You can only have a shot or two though, your exam is tomorrow."_

"Fine. I'll leave right now. I'll grab something that can be reheated for later, okay?"

"_Sounds good Mer. Drive safe."_

After she hung up her phone she made a vague waving motion to Derek. "I have to go. See you around, I guess."

He smiled sadly and nodded. "See you later Meredith. Drive safe."

"I always do." With that she pulled out of his driveway and headed towards the ferries, not once looking back."


End file.
